


JUNGLE HEAT II: The Sign of Evil

by honiglippe



Series: Jungle Heat Series [2]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-17
Updated: 2012-12-17
Packaged: 2017-11-21 09:50:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/596335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honiglippe/pseuds/honiglippe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kidnappings, Terror, Chase, Angst. Romance (I hope). A week after Jungle Heat I. What's getting after Mulder, Scully and Chico? Can they be saved from the evil?</p>
            </blockquote>





	JUNGLE HEAT II: The Sign of Evil

JUNGLE HEAT II: The Sign of Evil(01/16)

AUTHOR: by marianne

Revised: March 2000

E-mail: "The X-Files" is the creation and exclusive property of Chris Carter and 1013 and FOX. I'm just burrowing the characters in it, the unknown are mine.

RATING: PG and NC17 properly labeled

CATEGORY: T(Adventure), A(Angst), R(Romance)

SPOILERS: None

KEYWORDS: MSR and some Skinner/other

SUMMARY: Kidnappings, Terror, Chase, Angst. Romance (I hope). A week after Jungle Heat I. What's getting after Mulder, Scully and Chico? Can they be saved from the evil?

COMMENTS: None. Just, English is not my native language.:)

But on other hand, I have a nice editor, so when there are still errors choose who to blame,(sigh) it must be still me.

Thanks for Gwynne and Emily my beta readers.

JUNGLE HEAT II: The Sign of Evil

Part One

Skinner's apartment

Sunday, August 3rd

01:30 am

The dark street was poorly lit, just a low spotlight surrounded the form of a balding man lying on the wet asphalt. The rain was soaking him to his skin.

As a dark shadow was coming to his side, the balding man pulled himself off the pavement and ran away and suddenly found himself at the base of a snow capped mountain, surrounded by dark trees in a shallow hole. The man tried to escape, but the clay walls crumbled away, burying him deeper into the widening hole. He heard a heavy breath and saw the dark shadow coming towards him again.

A bright light descended from above and one single arm came shining through, tiny in its frame. Soon appeared another arm and a voice softly said: "Take my hands, Papai." The man reached for the tiny arms and was led to the bright light. He opened his terrified eyes, and looked up at the shiny, crystal blue eyes.

One fragile hand kept a tight grip on the man's hand while the other caressed the sweaty forehead and damp cheeks, wiping away the tears.

"Chico!" Skinner said with a trembling voice and embraced the little frame. He heard the heavy rain outside. The flash of lightining and thunder growing farther away by each stroke.

"The huge man hurt you so much, Papai, but he can no longer reach you." the little boy said with his soft voice. "Now come and take a shower. Or should I prepare a hot bath? It is sure relaxing. I have never had a hot bath in a bathtub. I just saw them on TV." Said the little boy all business. He had to take care of the man, who was now his father.

Skinner smiled a bit, despite his amazement at Chico's gift that the boy knew what had happened some months ago, and was relieved that Mulder didn't know of Chico's special gift. He would hate it if Mulder was to see him as an X-File, worse, if the Consortium was to find out about Chico's gift there wouldn't be any security for Chico. "It's too late for that, Chico. We can't disturb the neighbors with the running water. But I'll take a quick shower."

The little boy held his head up like a wee bird and said astonished, "In Brazil we take a shower or bath when we want, and all day or sometimes more than three times. Depends on the weather. And the city never sleeps, and it is never so silent. There are no drum sounds with some samba, no laughing faces here. I sure don't want to be a streetboy here."

"And I don't want you to be one. You are now my little boy." He ruffled the silky hair of his tiny boy before he went to the bathroom.

Chico looked at the big king sized bed and saw it was all wet from the sweat of the nightmare. He got up on a stool and took new sheets from the ward-robe to change it. His task done he fell asleep on the bed waiting for Skinner.

05:30 am

"Papai, Papai, wake up! The sun is shining, there's no more rain. We have to get ready, to meet Tia Maggie. Come on. Mas sera possível!"

Chico exclaimed when Skinner didn't move an inch. He had slept in Skinner's bed again. He blew on the eyes of the man and finally held an eye lid up. The warm dark brown eye observed him sleepily as Skinner opened both eyes to take a look at his watch on the drawer.

"05:30?!" he exclaimed, taking his blanket and hiding his face under it. He muttered, "Go back to sleep, for holy Christ, it's Sunday and I usually wake up at 06:30, and that's already too early. And we meet Maggie at nine."

The tiny hands pulled the blanket away. "But the sun is shining and we have to take a run, play soccer, then basketball, then baseball, then bath, make breakfast, clean the apartment, ..."

"Play soccer, basketball and baseball? What about volleyball?" Skinner asked astonished.

"Volleyball? You didn't give me a Volleyball. Tio Foxi gave me a soccer ball. Why do you call it soccer, by the way? In Brazil we call it football, and why do you call football this game with these giants of men, when you play it with the hands? That's surely odd. And Tia Dana gave me the basketball and you gave me the funny glove with the little ball for ... baseball, and you said you are going to teach me. All American boys should play it, you said, and that I am an American boy now too. So do you stand up now? And I was always an American boy, a South American boy. Do..." The big man lunged for him and tickled him all over.

"OK! You're a pain in the ... well, do you know it?" he said to the still laughing boy. "Go and put on your running clothes and sneakers, and I'll put on mine."

08:45 am

"Great, now we're late." Skinner said putting on his after shave under the curious eyes of the tiny boy beside him.

"Late?! Nine is not late. Late is ten or eleven. And I'm ready." Chico said holding up his hands in dismay and went to the living room. He was content, they had played a lot at the park and after a while there were more kids around who played with them. They almost lost track of the time and had to hurry back to the apartment. And there was no time left to clean it as they intended, or time to eat breakfast.

They reached the zoo fifteen minutes late, and Maggie was already sitting on a bench and a man was talking to her and laughing.

... And she was laughing back.

Skinner slowed a bit down at the sight. His eyes grew wide as the man hugged her and gave her a kiss. He stopped dead by the ice-cream man's cart. Chico almost lost his balance, because he was holding Skinner's hand.

"Oh, Papai. What's the matter?" The little boy asked and followed his father's amazed gaze, and rolled his eyes. Grown ups. he thought. "Come on, silly. Maggie is already here." And pushed his father towards her, she just turned away from the leaving man, waving good-bye.

"Well, if these are not my favourite boys." She said smiling and gave Skinner a little kiss on his lips and then ruffled Chico's hair before she gave him a kiss and a hug too. She was always amazed at the boys endearment and that he allowed to be hugged even though he was almost eight. He really seemed to like the affection, unlike her own little grandchildren.

The other man came jogging back, slightly out of breath and handed her a piece of paper. "Oh, Maggie. I forgot to give you my new phone number, 'til Saturday. Oh, and sorry, but I really have to go now." Then he glanced at the two newcomers and smiled a bit. "Sorry again, nice to meet you." and jogged away, after giving Maggie another kiss.

"He never changes." Maggie said laughing, but sobered when she saw Skinner's clouded face, and started to laugh again. She could swear she saw a hint of jealousy in it. "Well, I hadn't the chance to introduce Johnny to you. We will meet him on the weekend. He was in a hurry as always. Almost a year now, I haven't seen him."

"And who is this Johnny?" Skinner asked trying to sound normal, but failing slightly.

"Well, Walt, if I didn't know better, you seem jealous. That's rather a compliment, for a woman of my age. And don't be silly. He's my brother. And if that's a hint how our marriage will be, I don't know." She said arcing an eyebrow, with her hands on her hips.

Skinner flushed and felt rather silly.

"Oh, come on, you two. Let's watch the animals." Said Chico and pressed himself between the two and took a hand of each one, shaking his head in disbelief. "Sorry, we came late, Tia Maggie. We played too much. It surely was my fault, and we left without breakfast. Well, I ate some cookies but I don't think that's enough, do you?" He asked Maggie, who had always the sense to feed him properly.

They had gone to a restaurant yesterday, to have dinner, but what they called dinner here, was for him, if so, a snack, and nothing more. What a luck his father had a huge refrigerator. Otherwise he would have died of hunger, and he surely thought that it was time they married soon, then he would have a Mamae to.

They walked around, watching the animals and having some hot dogs and ice-cream and chatting all the way. Well, the talker was mostly Chico, reveling himself all the more as a true chatterbox. But in the end he became very silent and introspective. Something was wrong, he could feel it.

Scully's Apartment

09:45 am

Scully opened one eye to the bright sun shine, which shone through the fringe of the closed curtain and onto her face. She lifted her head a bit from the warm chest and tried to snuggle herself out from the tight embrace. No way, she frowned. Mulder kept her that way as if he was afraid to loose her, she knew.

They had had a two weeks' vacation, to recuperate from the ordeal in the jungle, which had ran out last Monday. And there was still no new case in sight. Just a lot of paperwork.

She was amazed they really made it back to civilization. Well, if it wasn't for the Indios she doubted they would have made it. That made her remember the old paje, who had cured her somehow, she couldn't figure out how. There was no trace left of her tumor. She tried to desintangle herself from the tight embrace around her waist.

She sighed.

"Fox Mulder, would you please let go of me ... for an instant?"

"Why?" he asked with a muffled sleepy voice, and kissed her neck, then her cheek and snuggled her even closer.

"Nature calls and I've been trying to get up for five minutes now." She said frowning and finally he let her go. She sat up and took her silky peignoir from the chair beside the bed. She dashed for the bathroom. Then she decided to take a shower too.

The warm water was running down refreshingly on her silky skin. She turned the water control hotter and at the same time she felt arms embracing her again.

"I thought you might need some help to rub your back." Mulder said, and caressed her thighs and breasts in slow circles. Scully leaned back on him. "That's not my back." she said smiling and turned around to kiss him on his full lips. He began to hold her up by her thighs when she heard the ring of her phone. "Fox, the phone."

"Let it ring." Mulder said with a husky voice kissing and licking her throat and roaming to her breast.

"We can't, we are scheduled for service this weekend."

He sighed, and let her go. What an hour for the damn Bureau to call them on duty, and hoped it wasn't the Bureau. She came back.

"Mulder, the Bureau is calling us."

He leaned on the shower wall, frowned, and put the water control on cold, freezing cold. When he came back to the bedroom, Scully was already half clothed and the phone in her hand.

She looked at Mulder and said into the phone. "You couldn't reach Agent Mulder? Wait a moment, there's a knock at my door." She closed her hand around the speakers shell and rolled her eyes and blushed at Mulder's smirk. "You don't have to find him anymore, it was him on the door, and we'll be there in an hour. By the way, what happened?"

She asked and suddenly her rosy cheeks paled and she hung up silently.

"What happened?" Mulder asked feeling a chill running down his spine and put on his boxer shorts.

"They found a body ... in an abandoned alley near the harbor." She inhaled forcefully before she continued. "It was a little boy wrapped in a red blanket."

End of part one

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

JUNGLE HEAT II: Sign of Evil(2/16)

Obs.: "Chico" is pronounced "shiico". In Brazil we speak

Brazilian Portuguese with touches of Tupi/Guarani (Indio language)

Part Two

FBI - Headquarter Washington DC

Sunday, August 3rd

11:30 am

"There's no doubt left. It's the same kind of murder as before." Scully said to Mulder, who was standing at the farthest wall of the autopsy room. She put down her recorder for her notes of the crime autopsy, and went to the sink, throwing the rubber gloves into the trash can. And she began to scrub her hands with the liquid soap. After that, they left the room.

Skinner's Apartment

11:45 am

Skinner was worried about Chico. All the sudden he had thrown himself in his arms when they still were in the park and he had talked desperately in his own language, more like a prayer than to him properly. And what was more frightening him was that the shiny eyes had returned to the sad gaze as the ones he had, when they first met.

Maggie was preparing a lunch in the kitchen, from a frozen food pack she had already prepared for them some days ago. With the microwave it was easy for the two to prepare their own lunches and dinners, with homemade meals, when she wasn't here. Not that it was all that needed, as Skinner was an excellent cook himself, but she had more time than he had to prepare them.

She observed them as they waited in the living snuggled together on the couch. She was amazed as what a good father Skinner had turned out for the tiny boy. She saw so much love between them. The boy had something special in him, different in a way. Something Skinner was aware of, but she would wait, till he told her what it was. Anyway, she had her suspicions about it. The blue eyes seemed so deep and all the sorrow she saw in them since this morning of his inexplicable break down at the zoo. He reminded her of her old mother back in Ireland in a way. She sighed.

"So, Chico. What's the matter?" Skinner asked, finally still holding the trembling body in his large arms, caressing the silky blond hair.

Chico looked up with his sad eyes, shiny in contrast with his tan skin and said so low, Skinner almost couldn't understand him.

"The evil is back, to claim me, searching for me, killing to find me."

Skinner felt a freezing chill by the words. "Chico, he's dead, you saw him die. He never will get you again."

Chico shook his head. "The evil is too strong to let go, even in his death, Papai." And he looked at the phone and it began to ring.

"Skinner."

"Agent Mulder, Sir. We have bad news. A body was found this morning. A boy of about eight years of age, no identification yet, but ... he was killed the same way as the ones of the last case. We are now at the harbor, where he was found, sir."

Skinner looked at his tiny boy suddenly very afraid for him. "I'll be there in an hour. Give me the address." He said, caressing the silky blond hair once more and hung up the phone. He took Chico in his arms and went to the kitchen. "Maggie, sorry, but I have to go for a while. Could you take care of Chico, till I come back?" He asked and slid the boy down to a chair at the kitchen table.

"Sure, you didn't have to ask, Walt. It's always a pleasure to spend some time with him." Maggie answered and followed him out of the kitchen to the living room. She watched him take his overcoat from the hall closet. Before he left he kissed her briefly and hugged Chico. The little boy took Maggie's hand and when Skinner was gone he leaned on her and sighed deeply.

Waterfront

Southwest DC

12:50 pm

When Skinner reached the harbor he saw his agents searching around, looking for hints of the murder.

"Anything new?" he asked when he approached Mulder and Scully.

"No, sir. But he wasn't killed here, there is barely any blood around." Answered Scully, from her kneeling position, then she stood up and glanced around. "Mulder, what's that?" She asked and went to a corner at the docks. The wall there had a drawing on it, of a rusty sign.

"I'm not sure, but it seems to me like a sign I saw once in an old book of witches and rituals. Let's make a picture of it and search in the library for it, to be sure."

Scully scratched a bit of the rusty ink and put it in a plastic for evidence. "I suspect it's dried blood."

An hour later Skinner approached them again.

"Well, I'll go home now. If there is anything new, don't hesitate to call me, and I want a report at 10:00 on my desk."

"Yes, sir."

Skinner's Apartment

14:30 pm

"You didn't have to wait for me for lunch." Skinner said and sat down with Chico by the table in the reparted living room. Chico was curled beside Maggie on the couch, when he came in, but stood up the second he had entered to hang on him.

"We weren't hungry. But now as you're back, we can have our lunch all together." Said Maggie with a smile and went to take the meal from the micro-wave. Skinner went to help her. "I forgot the salad."

"Don't worry, I'll prepare it with Chico. He likes it with Olive oil, vinegar and salt, and nothing more, and some tomatoes." Skinner said smiling and the two prepared it with coordinated gestures. A lot of salad, Chico alone ate a whole bowl full alone all the time.

It was a really hot August day almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit and they spent it in the apartment. No one seemed willing to go out.

Skinner had spent the whole week since they came back from Brazil as a vacation, to give Chico some acclimation to his new environments.

Being summer, school was not in session. That was a problem. He couldn't let the boy all day alone in the apartment, when he was back at work. But Maggie had resolved it, as always. She already loved the child as it was her own, and made it possible to take care of him during the day.

She had already had a fun day, when they all went to buy him clothes, as he owned nothing, but the ones Skinner had bought him in Rio. Like the one Chico was wearing now, a white t-shirt with a colorful design on it, with the angry face of a man doing some martial art with the lettering "Bad Boy" in English and another Capoeira in full red. It was his favorite and he wore it with a pride, as it was one all boys or youngsters used, when they could, and that there were diverse designs, for all tastes, he said, and by his all in wonder brightened eyes it sure was a big present for him.

"So, now tell me what's going on." Asked Maggie when Chico was finally in bed later that evening, and she sat with Skinner on the couch.

Skinner sighed, leaned back and took his glasses away and rubbed his tired eyes, before he began to tell her what had happened that morning.

"Oh, Walt, but it has nothing to do with Chico, hasn't it?" she asked afraid for the little boy. She felt a chill, when she remembered the boy's odd behavior all the sudden in the morning. It was almost, as if he had knew something had happened.

"I don't know, but ... Chico seems, ... well, seems to have a special gift in sensing some things ... to have the sight, second face, whatever. I only know, well I have to make it clear, Maggie, that nobody should know what I said to you now, or his life will be hell, when someone finds out. We already talked about it, and he's aware, that it can be dangerous for him and had always tried to hide it by himself."

"I already suspected it, Walt. And it's clear for me, that nobody should know it."

Somewhere

Past midnight

A dark shadow pierced around empty streets, in search, seeking for the only soul which mattered to him. And no living soul would get between him and the one he was in search. He would find him, for vengeance, for all that happened.

No sound came from the silent shadow.

He stopped in a alley, to find the sleeping frame of a tiny boy, curled in his shabby clothes, beside a bigger one. He lunged for the tiny frame and smashed the larger head with no mercy to the dirty brick wall, when he awoke.

Before the tiny boy could scream, he silenced him by holding his large hand over the boy's mouth. He looked deep into the boy's dark-blue eyes, before he wrapped him in his coat, and took him away from the bleeding older boy somewhere in the streets.

End of part two.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

TITLE: JUNGLE HEAT II: The Sign of Evil(03/16)

Part Three

FBI - Headquarter Washington DC

Tuesday, August 5th

11:30 am

Mulder and Scully entered the AD's office and saw him standing in his blue striped shirt by the window, he was gazing out thoughtfully. Turning around he sat down after Scully. His jaw was clenched firmly when he leaned back in his big chair.

"Why is it taking so long, to find that animal who made this to the boys?" he asked with fire in his eyes.

The two agents moved uncomfortable in their seats. 'Long?' they thought after a glance at each other. It was only the third day they were on the case.

"We didn't have any lead 'til now, sir. Nothing that could bring us nearer to the murderer. But, another boy was found. Again near the docks. And this time we have a witness, not to the crime, but to the abduction of the boy." Said Mulder and wasn't surprised to see Skinner looking at him with his fiery gaze.

"What witness?" asked Skinner again in control of himself.

"It's a runaway, sir. He was with his younger brother sleeping in the streets, when an enormous man approached them, but before he could say something, when he saw the man grab his still sleeping brother, he was smashed against the brick wall by him. But he could give a fairly good description. But that's the craziest of all. According to the description, it seems to be Raul Donato." Answered Scully.

Skinner paled at this statement. "But that's impossible. I shot him. He is dead. There's no way it can be him."

At the Harbor

Friday, August 8th

before Midnight

All available agents had been put in strategic places at the harbor, disguised as dock workers or hidden in their cars. It was Mulder and Scully's shift at midnight in the fourth day after the second body of a boy had been found.

"Post three: All quiet, no occurrence." Said Mulder in his wireless.

"OK." Answered the Central.

Mulder glanced at Scully, she was stricken in the file in her lap and didn't acknowledge him for more than half an hour. He sighed, this case was getting to them and it was already the fourth day in a row they were at the stakeout from midnight to 6 in the morning.

Both bodies had been found in the immediate surroundings of the harbor, so it was a fat chance they could catch perhaps the killer, as there were no other evidence left, where to look for him.

The dark docks where silent, just the low hammering of the soft waves on the walls by the margin broke it. It was a dark night without the light of the moon, and the few ships anchored there rocked gently to the soft motion of the waves.

It was again a hot damp night and very uncomfortable just to sit in the warm car. The day had been one of the heat waves which assaulted D.C. sometimes and had reached almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit and thank God it had cooled off a bit at night, but it was still too hot. It was reminding him of the damp jungle, just there it had been hotter, and it led his thoughts to the old paje, as they called a shaman there.

He was very thankful to him, and he felt sorry he had to die. And twice he had saved Scully, first from the cancer, then he had taken the bullet which was meant for her. He was still amazed by the fact that Scully was healed and they didn't have to deal with Cancerman to save her.

Perhaps by now he knew of it, even when they didn't let it circle around.

He sighed again. For four days now that they didn't see each other beyond the working hours, it was hard on him. He already couldn't sleep well without being near her at night or better said mornings, as their stakeout was always after midnight. He sighed again.

"Mulder, stop it."

He almost jumped at her words so concentrated he was in his own.

"What? I said nothing. I'm just sitting here."

"Exactly, you are sighing and watching me all the time. Cut it out. What's bothering you, beyond our agreement not to sleep together during a case, by the way?" she said and put her file away to the backseats and watched him for a while. "Here you go again with your lost puppy look." Now she sighed heavily. "You know, ... ." she began but than just leaned over and kissed him on his full lips. He already had heavy dark circles around his eyes. "It seems, you didn't sleep well the last days. What am I going to do with you?" she asked tenderly and nudged his long nose at the tip.

"Marry me." He whispered almost inaudible.

Her eyes grew wide. "What did you just say?"

He cleared his throat as his collar seemed already narrower and whispered a little louder. "Marry me." 'Oh, I did mess up.' And his shoulders dropped down and he averted his eyes from hers. 'Why should she marry me?' he thought desperately. 'Couldn't I've just let it be as it was? Now she's ... I don't know what she's going to do, that's the problem.' When he saw a slight movement towards him he managed to look up. She was almost kissing him. Tentatively he leaned closer to her.

She sat suddenly upright her eyes big with anticipation. "Mulder, there's someone out there. He has a bundle with him." She opened her car door and took her sig-sauer from her holster. Mulder snapped out of his reverie. "Shit." He murmured and left the car to go after her. They remained in the dark and followed the huge man with the bundle over his shoulder.

It seemed to be their man 'til now. They were at a safe distance from him so Mulder took his wireless. "Post Three: Suspect heading for Pier 13. Over" He whispered on it.

"Acknowledged. Backup coming. Stay tuned. Over" Answered the low voice of Skinner instead of the operator's of the Central. Mulder looked at his wireless with astonishment.

"Skinner?!" he whispered and shook his head. This man seemed to be everywhere and in the right time.

They snuck up to Pier 13 and from their view point they saw the man like a shadow go into one of the enormous warehouses there. They waited a bit outside and when they saw Skinner and various other agents approaching, they waved to them.

"He's in the warehouse, for about 10 minutes, sir. It's better we get in as soon as possible. He had a bundle with him. It could be a kid. There's only one entrance, we checked it out."

"OK. We're ready. We've 20 men in the moment. Let's go in." ordered Skinner with his gun ready. They opened the slim door beside the locked big entrance and could already hear a strange human's voice.

All was in the dark in the warehouse, full of wooden boxes of all sizes, but a spot in the middle of it was lit by the soft light of hundreds of black and red candles. An altar like place had been built there, and a slim naked boy was lying bound on it. The huge man was hovering over him with a wounded dagger in his hand, ready to plunge it into the tiny frame of the terrified crying kid.

"Freeze, FBI. Step back, or we shoot." Shouted Skinner with his gun pointed to the coated man.

The man let his dagger fall to the ground and looked straight into Skinner's eyes. Then he grinned and stepped back, holding his hands up.

Skinner, Mulder and Scully hold their breath. The man was like Raul Donato. They were the only ones who had seen him before, beside Agent Plumper from NY, who was preparing to head for the DC Headquarters next week by Skinner's request. The burning eyes of the man didn't advert his gaze from Skinner, but to look deep into Mulder's and Scully's eyes, which set a p.'s teeth on edge on them.

The man stepped further away from the shocked boy and some agents approached to untie him and take him away.

Suddenly there was a wind coming through the warehouse and all the candles went out. There were shouts coming from everywhere and various flash lights were going on, but the man had disappeared in the dark and the dagger was gone. They searched everywhere, but couldn't find a trace of him.

Skinner took a deep breath. Was it Donato or someone else? But if it had been him, it would be impossible. They had seen him dead, with a hole on his forehead. There was no way he had survived, and beside that there had been an autopsy performed on him by Scully and the local forensic personnel back in Brazil.

Maggie's house

Saturday, August 9th

06:10 am

"Hi, Maggie. Sorry to come so early." Skinner, said tired.

She just smiled and led him in by the arm. "I'm already a wake for an hour now. Guess why!" He gave her a bear hug and kissed her that she almost lost her breath. She looked at him wide eyed and with her face flushed. "With an entrance like that, you can come in all hours." She finally managed to say.

Ai, ai, ai! Que beijo. Ta na hora de casar.

Maggie blushed when she heard the clear voice of Chico and disengaged from Skinner and blushed more. "What did you say?" she asked, and straightened her skirt nervously.

The tiny boy giggled and shook his right hand rapidly as if he was trying to fan himself. "I said, What a kiss and that it's time to marry. Don't you think it's time, Papai?" He was trying to climb up on the huge man, but just managed it, when Skinner took him in his large arms. Finally settled comfortable he grinned at them. "Besides, so I don't have to tool along here and there all the time. And I swear, I don't going to sleep all the time in your bed, Papai. But sometimes it's surely allowed, isn't it, Mamae?" he said grinning, and shook his head in disbelief, when they blushed. He rolled his eyes. 'Grown ups.' Just because he was tiny they thought he didn't know about certain things.

After all, he had lived in the streets for almost four years. The last year had been in full time, and the others his mother was working all day and the most part of night.

He had learned to cook, when he was about three, as Alexandre had left him almost all the time alone. Alex was 5 years older than him. But nevertheless he had felt secure with him. No other boy was allowed to approach him, or he had to deal with Alexandre and this could be very dangerous, even for him. No one of the others could approach him, but Alexandre could be mean sometimes and beat him very hard. It hadn't been all the time that way, but when he began to take drugs he lost it sometimes in the last year they were together.

He leaned his head on the broad shoulder and sighed. His new father had seen his back and the marks and had hugged him then, with tears in his eyes. Alexandre had never hugged him and his mother just when he was very little. It was so nice to be hugged. That made him remember of one of Maggie's grandchildren, Mark. He didn't like it to be hugged. His loss, Mark surely didn't know, what he was losing. He, Chico, had began to call her Mamae then and had hugged her even more in front of this Mark. What about, that Mark had called him, when they were alone as a ... well he forgot the name and he wasn't going to put it in his enlarging vocabulary. Surely not. Only whiny little boys could be hugged, Mark had said to him. He had taken him by his collar then and had said very slowly, the way he had Papai seen do it once, to let him be as he was, and that HE, Mark, was whiny. He Chico would never had made a scandal like he did, by a simple scratch on his knee. And he said also that a Brazilian liked to be hugged. He made him respect him.

Didn't they say, like father like son? Gee, so he had to turn out a good FBI agent. He only hoped, he would grow taller.

End of part three.

Hope you like it till now. Feedback welcomed as always.

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JUNGLE HEAT II: The Sign of Evil(04/16)

Part Four - NC-17

Scully's Apartment

Saturday, August 9th

06:20 am

Scully sat heavy down on her couch and patted the place beside her for Mulder to sit down. His face lit up and he locked the apartment door.

"So G-man, where were we? Hmm. Right. I said: 'What did you say?' And you repeated: 'Marry me.'" She looked at him and arched her eyebrow and leaned forward. Waiting. After a while when he just looked at her a little uncertain what to do next she asked. "What are you waiting for?"

"It's your turn, you didn't answer yet." He whispered.

Although her gaze softened at that, he certainly didn't know what answer to expect, he was sometimes just so clueless and uncertain of himself. "Well, ... it depends." She said and sat on his lap.

"On what?" he whispered and embraced her tightly.

"Can you repeat it a bit louder? Otherwise I'm not sure if you really mean it."

"Scully," he cleared his throat it had sounded a little shaky, "will ... ." He stood up and settled her on the couch, suddenly thinking, a little romance was sure in the mood. He bent down on one knee, God, how nervous he was. "Dana Scully, will you marry ...?" he suddenly remembered the ring. Gee, he was messing up again. "Dana Scully, will you ..."

"Yes!"

"... marry me?" After some seconds his eyes opened wide. "Yes?"

"Yes!" She leaned forward with a smile in her face. "Shouldn't you show me the ring now?" She couldn't help but laugh out loud by his astonished face to the ring in his still cramped hand. She wouldn't have him different and she knelt down and held her left hand out for him.

He smiled and said with a little flush beginning on his collar up.

"What luck, you hold your hand up, I sure would have put it on the wrong one."

"Oh, Mulder. It's beautiful. It must have cost a fortune. You shouldn't ... ." she exclaimed when she saw the ring with the diamond surrounded by tiny aquamarines, the color of her eyes shining on her hand.

"Anything for you, Dana. It reminded me of you, when I saw it." He whispered, still shaken she had said yes. He knew, it was a bad timing with the still open case, but couldn't wait any longer. Life could be so short sometimes and he wasn't about to waste anymore of it.

She looked up and embraced him. How she loved this man, with all his failures, and sometimes it almost frightened her a bit. She leaned forward.

Mulder couldn't help but gaze at her, speechless, by the shiny blue eyes of hers, with all the love he could see in them. He was unprepared, when she leaned heavily on him and kissed him forceful on his trembling lips. He fell slowly back, breathless by her kiss. She was on top of him and smiled secretly. He had fallen completely on the soft carpet beside the couch and held her by her waist and then he began to slowly open the buttons of her blouse, one by one with no haste. He took her by her back to draw her closer to him, but she held him back and sat straight on his lap and drew him closer to her, pulling him up by his tie 'til he was almost sitting.

He was lost by her gaze of pure passion and love. With shaking hands he reached for her bra.

"Ah, ah!" she said shaking her head and took him by his wrist and placed his palm on the carpet with a gentle but firm squeeze. He sat a bit back supported by his arms on each side, placed on the floor. If she wanted control, he would give it to her. Anything for his Scully. Mulder couldn't tear his eyes from her as she began to take off her light suit jacket. Her eyes never left his, when she threw it almost behind her, and then took off her blouse too.

"I think, you are too clothed." She said with her voice so soft as a caress.

He was nervous and began to tug at his tie, to loosen it, but she shook her head again and smiled when she drew his hand in the direction it had been before, he obeyed, it was just so hard not to touch her. He held his breath, when she took away his suit jacket, slowly discarding it from his shoulders, her hands caressing his arms on the way down, till it fell to the floor but still held around his hands.

She took one after the other to free him from the light summer suit jacket and threw it to the forming pile a little to her left and reached then, never averting her gaze from his darkening eyes, to give the same attention to his white shirt, leaving just the loosened tie around his neck. She could see the soft pulsing on his throat quickening and his bare chest havening and the soft tremble of his arms.

He almost couldn't stand it, when she drew him closer again by his tie and traced with her index finger his sensuous lower lip. Teasing him. He was aroused by her simple touch and her scent was intoxicating. He closed his eyes when she began to trace all of his face with both hands, just the fingers caressing his hair, descending to his forehead, tracing his high cheekbones and reaching his throat. Her silky hands left a tickling sensation on his bare skin so that he felt hot and cold in one. He had never felt so sensitive and vulnerable in his life and longed for her touch never to end.

She began to caress his chest descending to his abdomen and leaned heavily on him, bending him so he rested with his back on the soft carpet.

Then her lips made the same way her hands had made, kissing and licking her way down, till she reached his already hard nipples, he was loosing all his control, when she slipped one hand from the waist band into his pants to caress him.

"Dana, please." He whispered and arched his thigh to meet hers. She slipped up again and ravaged his mouth and invaded it with her velvet tongue, exploring him all and then she began to suck at it. Their tongues mixed , erotically, exchanging their rare flavors. When she began to pull away he couldn't help but to follow her, but was impeded by the slight pressure of her hands on his trembling shoulders his sweaty skin gave him an over natural shine by the soft lamp in the corner of the living room. His eyes seemed like the savage foliage in the rare colors of the jungle, shining in his passion.

Scully, sat up in a ragged move and slipped down, 'til she was sitting on his thigh and began to open his pants and slid them down, freeing him from the confining cloth. He helped her by arching his body to make it easier for her to free him from all his clothes. She moved to his side and discarded his shoes and socks, before she discarded his pants, throwing it together with the boxer shorts to the growing pile.

She discarded her remaining clothes as well, suddenly she couldn't wait to feel all his naked skin over hers. She covered him partially with her tiny frame in comparison to his and could feel his erection sliding down her body, and could hear him groan softly and trembling all the more by the light friction from skin to skin. She held his hands down squeezing them when he tried to embrace her again and held them to his sides while she kissed and licked his nipples one by one and finally bit them softly. He squirmed restlessly under her touch and the feel of her body over him. His breath became ragged and he groaned deeply.

"Please, Dana, please." He pleaded now. He was so beautiful in his passion that she began to stroke him and then settled herself over him, engulfing him with her sweet wetness. He trembled all over when he could feel her, could feel himself in her and rocked to the pace she settled, arcing his lower body to meet her by each thrust, feeling himself always deeper inside of her. He thought he was going to die. With a final deep thrust she drew him closer to her and kissed him, plunging her tongue deep into his velvet mouth and began to rock again, while she could feel his hands on her waist squeezing them and then he shuddered in his release as well as in hers.

She lowered his head again and gave him a final kiss while she lowered her sweaty body on his, still connected in their passion. She looked at his beautiful face, yes beautiful, as it was now flushed and with tears running down from his cheeks in his vulnerability to the moment. She kissed them away and felt her own eyes with tears dropping down mixing with his own. With a final stroke over his chest she bedded her head in the hollow of his neck and closed her eyes, suddenly feeling very tired.

"Dana, I love you." she could hear him say softly and adjusting her in his arms, and when he drifted in his sleep he could hear her whispering sleepily. "I love you too, Fox." He smiled happily and held her very close.

Neither of them saw the dark shadow on the balcony, gazing with his fiery eyes on the sleeping pair and coming through the door, observing them and smiling evilly. Mulder stirred in his sleep and drew Scully closer to him unconsciously trying to protect her even in his sleep.

With a last gaze the dark shadow vanished from the place.

Mulder woke up suddenly feeling a cold he couldn't explain and sat up looking around with Scully in his arms. He could see nothing but the slight movement of the white curtains by the soft breeze coming through by the open balcony door. He couldn't remember having opened the door.

"What's the matter, Mulder?" Scully asked, sleepy.

"I don't know. I felt suddenly as if someone was watching us, but it is gone." She withdrew from him and stood up and looked around feeling a shudder going through her. She felt the same evil presence. "Come. Let's go to sleep in the bedroom, it's suddenly cooler here."

When they reached the bedroom, Mulder locked the door and slipped beside Scully in the fresh sheets and drew her to him. The bad sensation was gone and they fell soon asleep again feeling secure in each others arms.

Skinner's apartment

07:55 am

Chico was sitting by himself in the living room, when he felt a shudder going through him. He could see for his eyes Tia Dana and Tio Foxi observed by a dark shadow, but it didn't reach them completely as a white mist exhaled from them, protecting them from the dark evil that it was. He shuddered again and ran to his father's bedroom. He had gone to sleep for a couple of hours, as he hadn't had a chance for it that night.

Later they would meet with Maggie, his soon to be mother. He discarded his slippers before he reached the bedroom and crawled into the bed beside the sleeping man, where he felt the most secure and soon the big arms were holding him. He sighed and closed his eyes to the evil world outside for the moment and drifted himself to a heavy sleep.

End of part four.

Well, this one was difficult to write. Hope you liked it.

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TITLE: JUNGLE HEAT II: The Sign of Evil(5/16)

Part Five

Skinner's apartment

09:30 am

Skinner awoke with a start, when he heard a crying sound beside him. He opened his eyes. It was Chico, he seemed to be having a nightmare. He caressed his stubborn lock of hair carefully.

"Wake up, Chico. It's just a dream." He said tenderly. He still couldn't believe that the tiny boy was his now, and that it had been so easy to adopt him at all. Sure, Washington, the Brazilian Delegate has pointed out, it was mostly because of the lack of relatives for the boy. But nevertheless, with a little Brazilian way, as they say, all could be managed a lot quicker, even when it got through the official channels.

He became aware in the short time he stayed there, that there was a big children market there, which the Delegate had to deal. Almost all the children had been sold abroad. He almost couldn't believe the great number of abductions, and what was worse, that a great deal had been taken from families and not just street boys. The judge had asked him a lot of questions, but they weren't that bad, and they had all been for the good of Chico.

He didn't know what he would feel if he lost him now. He closed his eyes for a brief moment. Nobody was going to take him from him, that he swore to himself and if he had to go to the extremes.

The shiny eyes opened fluttering a bit to look directly into the warm brown eyes above him. The first shadow of terror Skinner saw in the crystal-blue eyes was replaced immediately to a relieved one.

"Hi, Papai. Are you awake a lot of time? Do you have to work today? Do you want to play baseball? Or just jog? We can also just watch TV, if you are tired? I ..."

Skinner tickled him all over. "Hey, your blabber mouth. OK. We can play a bit later, don't worry. But don't forget, I'm not the youngest guy anymore. And I don't have to work today, but eventually there can be a call. So I can't promise you anything. OK?"

The tiny boy squirmed and giggled. "Stop, stop. Uncle." He cried and Skinner let him go and lie back on the bed. Soon the boy was sitting on his stomach and began to tickle him. Then he stopped. "OK. Nevertheless we meet Mamae soon anyway, for lunch." He bent down to stop just inches from the stubby face. And looked very earnestly into the brown eyes. "When are you going to marry her?"

"What do you think?" Skinner asked.

"Well, it should have been May, June or July, but you did pass this opportunity. August is impossible, that's not a good month to marry. September will be OK. Can I wear a tux? Surely you are going to marry in the big church over there or the little chapel near Mamae's. She likes it." He said confidently. "She brought me there surely three times now. And that's a lot more then I went to church myself before."

"I'm not catholic." Skinner remarked to see Chico's reaction. He seemed to have spent a lot of thoughts to this matter already.

Chico looked at him stunned for a moment. "No problem, you have just to change your faith. It's the same anyway."

"And why do I have to change mine?"

"I'm catholic, Mamae is catholic, logically you have to change, you are out numbered. That's pure logic. Spock would have said the same." The boy said very earnestly.

Skinner sit up straight so the boy came to lie on his legs. "Oh no, don't tell me you are a Star Trek fan. I have enough from Mulder."

"Star Trek is the best. I love all series, but the most I saw was the classic series. An old Swiss leaving near the Favela always let me watch it, and he had cable TV. I never took Alexandre there. He would surely robbed him. He was so nice, and there I learned to speak English so well. Well, he said I had to perfect my accent a bit. In school they teach it just in the 5th grade but I heard that they teach it from the 1st on in some Particular Schools. Tio Hans always said, when I would go up in life I had to learn much and learn English and he also began to teach me some German phrases. That's a lot more difficult than English. But I didn't understand what he wanted to say with go up, should have been grow up, didn't it? Sometimes it was difficult to understand him. More after, when his daughter from Switzerland came to visit him sometimes. That was surely good. So the first time she saw me she was a bit worried but not long and she brought me always some Swiss-Chocolate and some clothes. She was so nice. I visited him rapidly to say good-bye, he was crying. I was so worried first, but then he said he was crying because he was happy for me. Surely odd. But old people are sometimes this way. We have just to have patience, isn't it?" he grinned then. "I know I'm blabbing and I shut up now. Let's take a shower. I thought it would be colder here in the States, but it's almost as warm as in Brazil. Well, not that hot, but almost."

"It's summer now, and this temperature is not always that high. Just sometimes." Skinner answered and he stood up and went to the bathroom he shook his head. With this blabber mouth he would never get bored again. But thank God he was silent when it was needed, and very well educated. It must have been the teachings of the old Swiss man.

Scully's Apartment

Saturday, August 9th

13:30 pm

Scully woke up with a start and wanted to stand up but as so many times before now, she couldn't. Mulder kept her in his embrace during all the time. Unconscious, till their ordeal at the jungle. Before she had to complain that he ditched her all the time to pursue his Truth and she knew when he thought she would get into danger, but now it seemed he would never let go of her again. When they were on vacation, he had received a call and taken her with him, that was a new one.

In one way it had been wonderful, and they had had finally the courage to declare their love for each other, without fooling around. And sure, her miraculous cure. And what was amazing, he had declared his love before she had been cured by the old Indio. She finally admitted it to herself. Even, when she didn't believe in Aliens, she had believed in the old Indio from the beginning.

She felt sorrow at his death and missed the funny giggle of him all the while, and mostly directed at Mulder. She still had to laugh to herself, when she remembered Mulder outfitted as an Indio, with the clay in his hair. And this made her remember of the lice Mulder caught, God knows where. What luck, she had been spared of it. They had tried with a lot of medications to get rid of them, her mother had laughed out loud at this, but tried all she could. But only Chico had a recipe for it what killed all the lice. And it was so simple. But he had stated till the beginning, that he Chico never had lice but his brother and his mom's recipe was to take every cup of Coca-Cola with a spoonful of salt and to wash the hair with it. And that was all what it took. Sure, he said, by some it needed about three times, looking pointedly at Mulder and he had shaken his head.

From Chico her thoughts wandered to Skinner. She had to admit it, in the first place she had been shocked to find out about him and her mother. Sure, she was still young to have this outgrown children and grandchildren in Chico's age, and she had married when she was still very young. But Skinner? And he was younger. But she had to admit, that this wasn't a valid argument against it. She herself had friends with considerable age differences, more than by Skinner and her mother, and they were the most caring pair she ever knew.

And on the other hand, she thought it was great of Skinner to adopt the tiny boy. And he was so funny. Better thinking, when they really married, he would be her little brother. She laughed out loud at this, when she thought about him in her Irish family. By her laughing, Mulder awoke with a start.

"Finally you woke up. I was really considering whether or not I give you a pinch on your nose or not, or much better, bite your chin." And she really did bite him.

"Ouch! Dana Katherine Scully, that hurts." She just watched him with a smirk so he tried his best hurt puppy look, which got him a kiss, and another bite. She stood up and ran to the bathroom, before he could react. "I'm going to marry a cannibal." She heard him mumble under his breath before she closed the door. She smiled.

She got into the shower for a refreshing. It was really hot again. She startled a bit, when she felt Mulder embrace her under the shower.

"I thought, you could need a little help to wash your back." He said grinning.

She smiled back. "I have the slight feeling I heard that before."

He brushed his hands over her breasts and descended to her stomach and beyond. "Mulder, that's still not my back. And ... don't you think, it's about time to get rid of the tie?"

"You left it on and as I recall, we were interrupted the last ..." They heard the cell phone ringing. "Shit!" he murmured with his already husky voice. "They want to kill my sex life. That's it."

She grinned at this. "Answer it. I want to finish my shower first."

And put the water control a little cooler. He sighed and went to the living room.

A short time after she could feel his hands embrace her again and she reached for them, but felt that something was definitively different and looked at them. She saw long ugly fingernails on the hands she thought were Mulder's. She withdrew and squirmed in the tight embrace till she could turn around and cried for Mulder. But there was nobody in there with her.

Mulder burst into the bathroom, when he heard her shout and saw her standing in the corner of the shower, her eyes wide with horror.

"Scully, what's the matter?" he asked when he saw there was all normal in there but Scully. He embraced her.

She inhaled deeply and said with a slight tremble in her voice. "I don't know."

He held her tighter, then pushed her a bit away. "In a pig's eye. Don't lie to me. It's me and I know you. Spit it out." he was afraid, she would say something like, that she had pain, pain like the ones from her cancer. The cancer which had disappeared.

"There ... There was someone here, he embraced me from behind like you did before. It felt strange, and when I looked down they weren't yours. He had long fingernails, but when I turned he was gone." She thought, that she was loosing her mind. It had really frightened her.

He felt a chill again, as last night. "We are going to my place tonight. OK?!" She nodded. He had waited for an argument, so it had really frightened her, he thought. To be honest, it had frightened him too. Since they met this Raul Donato after midnight, to be exact. They went back to the bedroom and dressed. Mulder had some spare boxers and shirts in her drawer and went to the living room to retrieve his suit from the pile. He stopped dead in his tracks. All their clothes were shredded into pieces like some animal would have had made and the left bundle was soaked in blood.

Luigi's, in Foggy Bottom

13:30 pm

Skinner, Maggie and Chico were at the Italian restaurant having lunch, and the tiny boy caught all attention, mostly disguised, from the fellow guests. But Skinner had to admit, that he was cute, sitting so earnestly between them, he made all was possible to remain very well educated.

Chico didn't want to compromise his father by bad behavior. His Swiss friend had taught him that education was all. But it was so hard.

He still felt a bit taken aback, when he thought about all the place at table and made sure to take the right knife, fork or spoon for each meal. He had to concentrate a lot and the table was too high too, that it made him think of the umpteenth time, why he was so tiny. How was he going to reach his water glass for example? Better to let it be where it was before he spilled it all onto the table. That would surely be an embarrassment.

He looked up, when he saw a movement by his father's side, and without ceremonial he was lifted by the waiter with an: "Excuse me, sir, but I forgot to provide the two cushions for your seat. I hope you can forgive me." And bowed with a little smile on his face when he had settled him on the seat again and went away. Chico looked stunned after him then grinned contentedly. But he wasn't sure, if it was earnest meant so, but he opted it was better to look as it was the most common thing in the world and bowed his head in gratitude. Things were easier now. It wasn't that bad after all and he began to talk a bit. He sighed content then. He had made it. Nothing spilled, all dry and clean, but, he was still hungry. This was a rich country but in a decent meal they could never beat Brazil, in that he was sure. He sighed, but became animated again. There was always the huge refrigerator left in the apartment, with a lot leftovers.

Suddenly another plate appeared in front of him and Skinner said with a grinning face:

"I thought you could still manage another meal. And you sure never ate a roast beef with potatoes. You have to prove it. Then you can have your dessert, don't you?" He asked all earnest. He knew his little boy by now. And was still amazed how a tiny boy like him could eat so much. How the poor part of people in Brazil managed it, he didn't know. They must be really Life-artists with the little salary they earned. And by the way, he loved it when he saw the big eyes shine the way they shone now.

After dessert, they were preparing to leave when Skinner saw the shiny eyes in the tanned face going opaque with a lost gaze to nowhere. He took him in his arms and left, before someone could perceive it. He stirred a bit, when he heard the soft voice fluster in his ear. "Papai, tell Tio Foxi and Tia Dana, that they don't go back to her apartment. The evil is there. He wants them, but it was still difficult for him to take them away. He remembers them, and still claims them as he had pretended before. Don't let them go back. And you can tell them about me. They are soon family anyway, and Tio Foxi would never hurt me. Don't be afraid about it." He silenced then and fell asleep in the huge protective arms.

End of part five

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TITLE: JUNGLE HEAT II: The Sign of Evil(6/16)

Part Six

FBI- Headquarter , DC

Saturday, August 9th

17:30 pm

"Sir, sorry to call you, but there has been another body. Again a boy." Said Scully still in the forensic room. "But, it's different in a way. His body has been sliced from inside, all his skin was unharmed, when we found him." She went to the wash basin and discarded her bloody rubber gloves and washed her hands. Suddenly she became aware of a rotten smell all over the room.

"Scully! Look at that!" She heard Mulder shout and come to her side.

The body had begun to decompose and suddenly it was covered by all kind of insects and worms which came from inside out and fell to the white floor, but there they remained unmoving. Skinner took one between his forefinger and thumb. It was dead.

They held their noses shut, the smell became unbearable to them, but stubbornly they remained in the room, to watch the terror. After a while just blank bones remained on the autopsy table and they also decayed to dust. Nothing was left from the boy as the dust and the dead insects and worms. Only then they realized how cold the room suddenly was.

They could hear a heavy breath and a raging growl which ran down their spines. All the room darkened and a strong freezing breeze went through the bare room surrounding them. They felt a heavy weight on their bodies and slicing hands over their backs, cutting through their suits and shirts and blouse. Mulder pushed Scully blindly towards him and drew himself over her, just thinking to protect her from the slicing hands. He could feel a strong hand feeling for him and Scully below him and then it was pushing them with all its power never letting go of his suit-collar. He could feel the cutting now on his bare skin, he moaned and felt tears running down his cheeks.

Something was trying to lift him from Scully, but he embraced her all the more. Hands were yanking at his hair. Then he heard Skinner moan and Scully moving below him, trying to slide with him on her back helping the pulling stubbornly pushing hand.

A freezing cold hand was now pulling at his left ankle. He kicked to break free.

A crack of the door opened and the soft light from the corridor revealed the owner from the pulling hand. Skinner yanked the door fully open and held the door frame and pulled them all the more out of the frenzy room. His face was bloody as well as his pushing arm, by cuts and his fist was white by the force he used to yank them with him out, bit by bit and gaining foot by foot. Skinner was already half out the room, when he saw some agents in the corridor watching in horror their ordeal.

"What's wrong with you, people? Can't you see I need help?" he growled at them.

Finally arms and hands were pulling at him, so he could let go of the frame and pack Mulder under his armpits. The only thing he could see in the dark room was a dark shadow. It was pulling at Mulder's ankle till their bodies were half the way out the room. Glowing eyes in reddish colors appeared in the height of the dark shadow's head, burning like two coals in the fire.

A shiny figure appeared suddenly and an unearthly scream of pure rage startled them and the last pull made the two scattered figures of his worry some agents land on his own scattered body, when the freezing hands freed them from his hold, to turn around. The door shut down with a clapping sound. And all went calm like if nothing had happened.

"Chico!" Skinner shouted and crawled out under the two agents and stood up. He yanked the shut door open and saw nothing but scattered furniture when he lit on the light. He ran to the next phone he could find and dialed Maggie's phone number and smashed his hand at the wall beside waiting the call to complete. He looked at his two agents, still sprawled on the floor, Mulder's back was worse than Scully's and he felt nothing better than they. Finally he could hear Maggie's voice through the phone.

"Hello?" she said and he could hear that she was breathing hard.

"Is Chico OK?" he asked.

"Walter? He's OK now. But he gave me almost a heart attack, he was so still like he had been dead. I'm going to the hospital, Walt. No matter what, but he's fine now, so don't be afraid."

"I'll be at the hospital with Mulder and Scully. Don't worry, Maggie." He hung up and shout at his agents. "Are you all nuts? Why didn't anybody call the medics yet?" He knelt down beside Mulder and Scully and pushed them back down, when they tried to stand up. "You lie down, until the medics come. That's an order." His commanding voice made them obey immediately. When he was in this mood, no one disobeyed.

George Washington University Hospital

18:15 pm

The receptionist frowned when she saw who came in through the emergency room. It seemed always to be the same agents alternately hurt and the intimidating, balding man, their boss as she knew by now.

Just that this time he came with them and not an hour after to terrify the nurses, even the chief nurse.

She felt a chill, when she saw the scattered trio and their shredded clothes, or what remained of them. The FBI seemed to be a dangerous job, but it seemed to be all the time the same agents, who got hurt.

Oh God, the scary man was approaching.

"Where is Frederico Walter Skinner?" the man asked. How about that, and now he was asking for the tiny cute boy who has been checked in just some minutes ago. What did he have to do with him? She thought still frowning.

"He's being examined now, by Dr. Nichols, sir."

"Where is that?"

"Sorry, but just family members are aloud to enter there." She said courageously. She wasn't going to allow him to get near the cute boy.

"As I am his father, I think that's enough permission for me to know where the hell he is." He growled with fiery eyes.

The receptionist's eyes opened wide at that. "Sure, Sir. Sorry, Sir. He's at the end of corridor B, the door to the left, Sir." When he finally left, she bent her head in dismay. This cute little boy was his son? Oh boy, she felt sorry for him. It must be hell to live with this domineering man.

Skinner opened the examination room and sighed relieved, when he saw Chico on the examination table and Maggie beside him.

"Papai!" called Chico, when he saw him.

"Walter! What happened to you?" Maggie said when she turned to the door by Chico's shout. He was really in a bad shape, all his clothes were shredded and his skin scratched with deep bleeding cuts. But he couldn't feel any pain until now, when he saw that Chico was fine. A little pale, but unharmed. He caressed the silky blond hair and looked down at Maggie.

"Maggie, Scully and Mulder are being examined. Look after them, I'll stay with Chico, till you come back." He said, with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, it's not that bad as it seems."

She smiled with a worried face and bent down to kiss the tiny boy.

"I'll be right back, Chico. OK?"

He smiled at her and nodded. "Don't worry, Mamae. I'm fine. Go see Tia Dana and Tio Foxi."

"So, that's your father. Nice to meet you, Mr. Skinner. You have a really nice boy and very courageous." She was a little stunned to see the well known AD from the FBI. The one who scared the hell out of the nurses, when he came to see his two agents. As it seemed they were back. She shook her head in disbelief. She had never had to deal with him before, but he couldn't be that bad, when she looked at the shiny crystal-blue eyes of the little boy lit up all the more when he looked at his father.

She ruffled the silky hair. "You can stand up now." Skinner helped him to dress into the odd T-shirt and shorts. "He's fine. A little tired, but in the whole very healthy."

Maggie entered again. "Is he OK?" was her first question.

"Yeah, Maggie. How are Scully and Mulder?"

"Thank God, they're fine. The doctor said they could go home in two days. Now it's your turn to get treated, Walter. I'll stay with Chico."

"Fine, go with him to Mulder and Scully in the meantime." He had seen, that the young doctor wanted to speak to him in particular, without Chico around.

"Come this way, Mr. Skinner."

They entered the annexed room. "Please, sit down, sir. And, please, don't worry before the results come to us. I could make out some swellings in his abdomen and chest, the results will only be conclusive in about a month."

She saw the man's eyes going darker and his face pale. She should have been more diplomatic. But, how could you say to someone that probably his son had a tumor, malignant or benign?

"Does ... does he have to stay at the hospital?" he whispered then.

"No, sir. As I said before, he's fine so far and only the results can give us conclusiveness. And it's better to treat him as nothing has happened. And, about the beating marks on his back, well, they are disappearing but, did you...?"

Skinner looked at her. "No. I could never hurt a child. He's adopted."

"Sorry, sir. I really didn't believe it had been you. The boy has too much love in his eyes for you if it would have been you. But I had to ask."

"Sure, it's your right to ask." Skinner felt really miserable now, not by the questions. His son could be dying. It ringed all the time in his mind. He stood up and turned around, he had to go out of this room, but swayed.

"Oh Holy Christ!" Dr. Nichols just saw now the mishandled back of the swaying man before her. She called a nurse. "Bring a stretcher. Now." She held him by his elbow. "Sit down, please. I'm so sorry. I didn't realize the seriousness of your wounds." What a hell of a doctor she was, she thought to herself and to give it the rest she sprang to him with news like this. She cursed herself. And where the hell had he arranged wounds like that, was beyond her understanding. They seemed like knife cuts. But they were always in four groups of parallel cuts. She felt a chill.

End of part six

So, what do you think? Creepy enough for the first terror? Feedback?

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TITLE: JUNGLE HEAT II: The Sign of Evil(7/16)

Part Seven (Well, if I say what happens I'll give it away.) perhaps NC

George Washington University Hospital

22:00 pm

"But, Dr. Nichols, it's against hospital rules. We can't..." Said the chief-nurse, frantic. She wasn't going to allow this. But she was interrupted by the doctor.

"I said let the boy in there. Doctor's orders." She closed the door of the hospital room silently and turned to the nurse. "For God sake, they are my patients, and Mr. Skinner will be out tomorrow evening. And the boy needs him as well."

"But the rules, ..."

"In this case I order it, so it isn't against the rules." She dismissed the pissed nurse then. She had checked on the other agents too. They were battered like the AD, so Dr. Scully was in a little better shape than agent Mulder. And she really couldn't separate the two, when she saw the little boy in the huge man's arms sleeping peacefully, after they treated the AD.

Skinner awoke in the middle of the night. He could feel the dulled pain on his back. It made him remember what had happened back in the forensic room. He still felt a chill and almost refused what he had seen with his own eyes. But there had been something here, something very evil who almost killed them. He sighed. Unconsciously he wrapped the little frame more into his big arms, as realization hit in. Chico was still in his hospital room. He smiled and looked down on the peaceful face he could make out in the soft moonlight. He caressed the stubborn lock tenderly, but stopped dead, when he remembered something else, something he tried to forget. His boy could be dying, like Scully had. He felt his eyes water with salty tears.

Skinner's apartment

Sunday, August 10th,

20:30 pm

They had come back home about two hours ago. He was plotting his escape plan before the nurses discharged him. The nurses were all too glad to get rid of the scary AD. But one thing they could see, the scary AD was really wrapped around the little boy's finger, with no hope for escape.

"Really, Maggie. I'm fine." He said for the umpteenth time. "Go back to the hospital and take a look at Scully and Mulder, and please be sure, they don't go back to Scully's apartment. I think it would be better that they don't go to Mulder's apartment either. Take them somewhere else. Even the Hilton, the costs will go on FBI budget."

"But Walt, I ... ."

"I'm fine."

She looked at his stubborn face, and shook her head. "OK. But swear to me that you will take a rest, you promised the doctor to stay in bed 'til tomorrow night." She glared a bit at him. He was just so stubborn sometimes, but she could be as well. On the other hand Chico would make sure of it. She tugged his blanket to his neck and gave him a kiss. She was totally unprepared, when he laced his arms around her waist and kissed her hungrily on her full lips, before he released her.

"Just to remind you, that I'm not that useless as you mean to think I am." And grinned at her flushed face and wink with an eye to Chico, who was giggling beside him, wrapped under the blanket too.

"Ai, ai, ai, ai, ai. I think September is a very good month to marry. Good Night, Mamae. Take care of Tio Foxi and Tia Dana. A mother's love always keeps away a bad spirit. So go there, and they will be fine. I will take care of Papai. Don't worry." He yawned and nestled his head on the large chest, and dozed off. He was very, very tired indeed.

FBI-HQ Washington DC

Wednesday, August 13th 1997

11:30 am

There were many glances towards them before they reached their basement at the FBI-HQ this morning. But as used to it as they were in the five years they were partnered they didn't acknowledge them as any other day. They were involved in their argument of the possible theories, and Mulder as always had his own ones, which Scully debated with her own, trying to refuse the obvious. The other agents just looked at each other, but the most of them felt a chill, mostly the ones who had in fact seen the "thing" down in the basement. The X-Files were really spooky. They reminded their own business. Let the Spooky team deal with the rest, was their motto, it was more secure. They hoped.

"But, Scully, how can you refuse it? You yourself saw it there."

She frowned. "OK. Whatever. But what can we do? Call some Ghostbusters?" She frowned deeper, when she saw Mulder's eyes sparkle with excitement. "Don't go there, Mulder."

"But, Scully, that's a fantastic idea. I'll send an e-mail to the Gunmen, to find out a good one. Where are you going? Wait for me." He demanded. He wasn't going to let her out of his sight, of that he was sure.

"Are you sure? I don't think the girls would like it to see ye in there. And I sure can manage it alone, Mulder." She smiled sweetly and fluttered her eyelids a bit.

He frowned. "I'll wait outside."

"Oh, no. You're not." She said and went away, but soon she could hear him some steps behind her. "Didn't I say to ... ." she began and trailed off. There was no one behind her. She was almost shouting for Mulder, when she saw him coming around the corner. "Why did it take so long?" she muttered. He looked pointedly at her and thought. 'Women!' the older he became the less he could understand them. He gained some odd glances, while he was waiting beside the ladies' washroom. It didn't matter to him and he smirked back at them.

"Agent Mulder. Waiting for Agent Scully?" asked Kim, Skinner's secretary. "I tried to reach you. AD Skinner wants to talk to you two, he gave me this number, where he can be reached." She smiled at him. Even with his bruised face he was cute, and already settled she thought to herself. She could make out the slight changes in their behavior to each other, even, she thought, that others wouldn't perceive them. She was happy for them, she thought that for a long time they belonged together.

She gave him the number and went down the corridor.

"What number is that?" asked Scully when she came out and she could see Mulder with the phone number in hands.

"Skinner's. Kim gave it to me this very moment. We've to call him now."

"OK. It's already 05:30 pm."

They decided to call from the garage with the cell phone on their way out.

"Mulder?"

"Yes, sir."

"Come with Scully to the harbor, Pier 13. I'll be waiting. Chico is with me here. Don't worry. All's OK now."

"That's odd." Said Mulder. "He says we have to go to Pier 13, and hung up."

"Then let's go."

Harbor, Pier 13

06:15 pm

"Mulder, there's Skinner. He's waving us to get into the warehouse. Let's go."

They reached the ware house and got in. They glanced at each other and took their weapons out. It was better to be prepared. It was dark inside.

"Over here!" they heard Skinner's voice from the center and they saw him standing by an altar with his back to them. There were some candles on the floor in various shapes but just black and red ones and all lit to illuminate the immediate surroundings. They could see also the legs of a man from the corner of the altar. "He's dead." Said Skinner whispering and turned around. His eyes were burning like two coals in a fire place and the manly face transformed itself into the one of Raul Donato in an evil mask.

They fired their guns hitting the chest of the transforming man, but he came closer step by step without wavering when the bullets hit him, 'til there was no one left. He shoved the weapons with a sharp hand waving them away. They turned around and Mulder took Scully by her hand to run away. When they almost reached the door, two frames, clothed in red coats appeared before them from out of thin air.

Soon they were surrounded by more figures closing the circle around them. There was no way to escape. Nevertheless, they run towards one side and tried to ran down the ones in front of them.

Suddenly the hell broke loose and a sharp freezing wind banged at them and shoved them back to the center. Scully landed in the middle of the candles and Mulder on top of her. She cried out in pain not from the fire of the candles, but from Mulder's heavy frame on hers. His elbow had crashed on her ribs and a sharp pain went through her.

Mulder winced in pain himself but took her by her waist and crawled near the altar. The dark shadow of the evil man came in the way and he hovered over them. Mulder jerked back from him, but it was too late. The men in red coats, held them tight and yanked them up, so they came to stand with their hands to their backs to face the ugly man. They could feel the heavy breath over their faces, the stale smell of death was making them nauseous.

The knotted hands with the long yellow fingernails took their heads in a forceful grip and turned their faces from side to side. Then he came close to Scully's face. Mulder tried to turn his head to see what the monster was doing to his Scully, but he could just observe from the corner of his eyes and felt rage and nausea settle in when he saw him lick her and force her mouth open to kiss her, invading her with his stale tongue. He felt his eyes water in pure rage and helplessness. He began to kick him and the burning eyes turned to him. Donato raised his head a bit and drew Mulder closer to his pock-marked face and forced his mouth open as well and invaded him too. When Mulder was almost without air he let them go.

"Bring them to the ship." He ordered with his growling voice.

Skinner's apartment

same hour

Skinner didn't know what to do, as Chico convulsed in front of him. He took him into his arms and was almost out of his apartment to get to the hospital, when Chico stopped him.

"No, Papai, wait. It's OK now." He ragged heavy breathing.

"Papai, he has them. He took Foxi and Dana. They ... they thought it was you. So he could get to them. They had to come willingly in his place. He observed them a lot to the only purpose to get to them. He won't do them any harm at the moment, or not much. He needs them alive."

End of part 7

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TITLE: JUNGLE HEAT II: The Sign of Evil(8/16)

Part Eight NC-17 - creepy

Skinner's apartment

Wednesday, August 13th

06:30 pm

"Kim, did you see Agents Mulder and Scully?" Kim was a bit taken aback by the harsh voice. "Yes, sir. I gave them the phone number you gave me about two hours ago. The last time I saw them was at 05:30 pm. I'm sure of it. I was making some copies."

"What phone number? I've been home the whole time. I didn't call you."

She gave him the number and he ordered her to find out where it came from and gave more orders like a tirade. Then he hung up.

He glanced than at Chico and dialed the hotel's number where Scully and Mulder had checked in yesterday. The same, they weren't there as well. He prepared to go to the FBI-HQ and decided to take Chico with him. As the things went on he wasn't going to let him out of his sight. He helped him dress and again dialed his secretary to inform her that he was coming and if there was any news yet.

"The phone number is from a cabin at the harbor, between Pier 13 and 14, sir."

"Send some men there. I want all the possible agents on search for the missing agents Mulder and Scully, at once. And call agent Plumper. Tell him I'll see him in about 45 minutes."

"Yes, sir. Understood."

"Come, Chico. You come with me this time. Never leave my side. Okay?"

"Yes, Papai." When they got out, Skinner lifted him into his arms and placed him into the backseat, buckling him in.

When they reached the FBI parking lot, Agent Plumper was arriving at the same time. "Good you're here, Plumper. Mulder and Scully are lost again."

"What? Not again. They should be leashed in my opinion. Hi, Chico."

"Hi, Tio Thomas." The boy said, breathless, as he was more running then walking beside Skinner's rapid pace. He hardly could take a good look at the huge building when they got into the sub garage. And he was so interested to see his father's working place as he was remembering the Elliot Ness Series.

Skinner looked down at his tiny boy and took him again in his left arm. Finally they came to a halt at the Security guard. The elderly man looked at the tiny boy in the AD's arm and ruffled his hair. "New agent?" He asked smiling.

Chico smiled at him his eyes all shining, but strangely sad in a way.

"No, visitor." That he had learned from the Series. " Going to see Papai's working place. My name is Chico Walter Skinner. What's your name, sir?"

The security guard arched his eyebrows, astonished. He didn't know the AD had a son. When he hung him a visitor's badge on he told his name to the cute tiny boy. The boy waved him good-bye.

There was no one who didn't look at least twice to the boy on the AD's arm.

"Kim. Nothing yet?" Skinner asked his secretary before he entered his office.

"No, sir." She said, unperturbed. She was one of the few who knew about Chico. So, that was Skinner's adopted son. Cute, but so tiny. She blinked at him. She smiled. This one was going to be a heartbreaker.

Skinner put Chico down on his desk and was all business. His orders came again out as tirades. Chico remained strangely quiet on the place his father put him on. His heart was heavy. And the hours went on. And still no sign of the missing ones. He sight. He saw it coming.

"It's growing stronger, Papai. Soon their love can't hold him back anymore." He whispered, when they were alone.

Skinner took him on his lap, to sit with him at the table and held him tight. He rested his chin on the silky hair and closed his eyes for a moment. "Can you see where they are?" he asked softly.

"Not totally. But it's a very dark room, and it is wavering. Tio Foxi is nauseous and it's cold. But in the moment the evil isn't with them. It can't remain very long near them yet. But soon. There are some men in red coats guarding them."

Skinner felt a chill each time Chico kept calling the man "it".

"Waving." He murmured and hit the phone. "Kim. Tell the agents to look in all ships."

"Yes, sir."

"I'll go home, but call me anytime when there's something new."

"Come, let's go home and call Maggie. She doesn't know yet."

"OK. But call her only when we're home." he begged.

"Why?"

"It's better. Please?"

"Sure. What do you think, we could go to her."

"No, better not. When we are home call her."

Skinner looked at him puzzled. Perhaps he was afraid that Maggie could be in danger when she got out. He thought it was better to follow his son's advice. Perhaps he had a feeling. "What's that?" he asked and bent down when they were on their way to the elevators. There was forming a strange sign on the boy's left palm. Red as blood.

"I don't know, Papai. It wasn't there a moment before." Said the boy with a shaky voice. He felt suddenly very tired. On the way to the sub garage Skinner observed the strange sign again. It was rough to the touch and dark red. He had a bad feeling. It was better to go to the hospital than at home.

He placed Chico into the backseat again and buckled him. When he got up something hit him hard on his head. He jerked around and came face to face with some red men clothed in red long coats. He hit the cement floor of the sub garage hard. He could feel again that freezing cold from the basement. Oh God, Chico was his last thought before all went black.

The men clothed in coats yanked the car door wide open but didn't touch the tiny boy. But they stood quietly beside the open car door.

"Papai!" Chico screamed and tried frantically to undo the buckle and finally succeeded. He jumped hurriedly out of the car to kneel beside the unconscious body of his father. "Don't touch him." He cried in rage to the dark vulture in front of him.

"So, you will come with me willingly to save him?" Chico heard the growling voice asking and the burning gaze looking expectantly down at him.

"What about Tio Foxi and Tia Dana?"

"I'll take them with us, but if you come I will release them in the end."

Chico didn't have to think much, he would do anything to save his father and the other two. Skinner felt a gentle kiss and something wet on his face and the soft voice of Chico in his half-conscious mind. "Don't worry, Papai. All will be fine. Don't forget to marry in September. It's surely a good month. My birthday is in September. I have to go now." And the softly lips on his face were gone.

"Sir, Sir!" he heard Plumbers voice coming like through a waterfall.

He opened his eyes. Then with a start he sat up, his head was spinning. He could barely hold his eyes open. He was still in the sub garage.

He stood up in a swift motion. "Chico!" he shouted and spun around. "Where's Chico?" and suddenly he could remember the soft voice. He froze. It had taken him away. He looked at his watch. Almost two hours had passed since he had gone down to leave the FBI-Building. Two hours and Chico was somewhere out there in the hands of this evil being.

He dashed back to his car. The Harbor flashed through his mind.

"Get in the car, Plumper. We're going to the harbor. They took Chico. Is there some news?"

"Nothing yet. What the hell is going on? Donato is dead for God's sake. What's ... it?"

"I don't know, but I can swear it's nothing human."

Somewhere in the ocean

Friday, August 15th

In the morning

"Mulder, are you asleep?" Scully asked softly. If he was she wouldn't wake him up. He was really seasick and heaved a lot. But she thought it was partially from the broken ribs he earned when he had tried to break free when they were brought to the little yacht, far away from Pier 13. She did what she could to ease his pain. Her ribs seemed just to be bruised from the fall. The room they were in was very dark and very little and sticky. It was hard to breath.

They couldn't lie down fully stretched, only curled, and with Mulder's height it must be terrible. She was a little luckier. So, who said, that height was all?

She brushed her sweaty forehead. It was also terribly hot in there. At least they were allowed to relieved themselves in a tiny washroom, but that was all. She longed for a shower. The silent figures of the coated men gave them something to eat and drink once a day. She shuddered, when she remembered the rough, stealthy tongue invading her mouth and then Mulder's. It made her feel still nauseous. It had reached down her throat. Thank God it hadn't appeared again till they were on the ship.

"Hi, sleepyhead." She said to Mulder when he woke up and kissed him tenderly on his full lips. The kiss became soon too hot and they separated their lungs calling for air.

"Not the right place for this, I think." Said Mulder breathless, but took her again in his arms and settled her over his lap with her legs on each side of his thigh. He knitted her over her blouse and bra and slipped one hand then under her blouse to continue to caress her. Her sweaty scent and body was arousing for him and she began to tug at his shirt too. He slid up her skirt . He winced a bit, when he tried to open his fly. They made love without restriction forgetting for the moment where they were.

They could hear a heavy breath all around them for a moment but it went away as swiftly as it had come. They felt a chill. He kissed her tenderly then and they began to rearrange themselves before the guards could show up and remained embraced.

End of part eight

Feedback? For me I thought it was a little creepy. What do you think?

Should I be more creepy?????

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Part Nine

Somewhere in the ocean

Thursday, August 21st

In the morning

"Let him in peace, you bastard." said Chico, enraged and kicked the man in the red coat who had hit Mulder with the handle of his weapon. Mulder felt as if his head would explode.

"Chico?" he asked, astonished. "Shit! What are you doing here?" he asked then, afraid. Skinner's boy in the hands of the monster. Of someone who should be dead, but was alive, or whatever. A seven year old boy. He remembered that all the kids killed in the rituals where about seven. He became more nauseous at that. Before he had just to be afraid for Scully, but now there was Chico too.

He looked at the tiny boy. Chico ran to him and embraced him tight and kissed him softly on his stubbly cheek.

The boy looked at the stubbly face with concern and caressed softly the bruises he could see. "Does it hurt much, Tio Foxi? Is Tia Dana fine?"

Mulder nodded reassuringly. "Not superfine, but it goes. Don't worry. All will be fine." At least was it what he hoped. When the puny hand brushed again over his bruised face his eyes caught the deep red mark on the left palm. Before he could look at it better the guard came back with two other men.

"Bring him back to the woman. And you, boy. You know you shouldn't go out of your room. The master will be angry when he finds out. Come now."

"No, I want to go with Tio Foxi. Leave me alone." The boy said with a gazed filled with hatred towards the men and hung more on Mulder's neck.

The coated man yanked him out of Mulder's arms and the other men brought Mulder back to Scully and threw him into the little room. He hit his head on the wall when he tried to avoid banging into her. He slid slowly down, holding his throbbing head.

"Oh, my God. It's Chico." Said Scully when they heard him cry and shout. Suddenly there was a cry of pain, but not the boy's and the boy came in running.

The men came running behind him and tried to yank him out of the cell.

"Let him there. The Master will deal with him then. And if he prefers to stay in there with them, rather than in his cabin, it's his problem." One said and held on his face a handkerchief to stop the bleeding from Chico's scratch.

They locked the door and went away. Only one remained to guard.

"That was not a good choice, Chico. Now you're stuck with us in this bad smelling cell." Scully said but embraced the tiny boy.

"Do you think, in the streets it was better than here? There are very bad smelling places there too. But you do noti smelli that badi just a little sweaty." He was content to be with them, he had been very afraid alone in his cabin and sometimes the bad smelling entity appeared who scared him a bit. Well, a lot, but he wasn't going to say so.

"What happened, Chico? Why are you here?" asked Mulder.

"The evil wants me. I'm not sure of what. Papai was looking for you. We were at the sub garage of the FBI, when they attacked us. They were going to kill Papai. But if I would come with it, it would let him go. That's why I'm here. Don't worry, it will let you go too. I made him swear it." He embraced them both and gave each one a smacking kiss. He wouldn't let the entity kill them.

"What sign is that on your palm, Chico? Let me feel it."

"I don't know. It was suddenly there. It doesn't hurt."

Mulder touched it.

He held the puny hand to the soft light by the loophole in the door to examine it as good as he could manage. It was the same sign as there was on the wall of the pier, painted by the blood of the first killed boy there. The only thing they found out then in the library, was, that it meant something like "The Change", but nothing more. He didn't have a good feeling about it.

He squeezed the little hand reassuringly. Chico was sitting on Scully's lap holding her tight, he hugged them both and they remained that way all the time.

FBI-HQ Washington DC

Skinner's office

Thursday, August 21st

18:00 pm

Skinner was standing in front of his window but saw nothing as the hunted face of his tiny boy before him. His face had become haggard from the overwhelming grief he felt of losing him to God knows what. It wasn't fair, he thought.

Unannounced, the cigarette smoking man entered the office smiling slightly before Skinner turned around, then he hid it behind his drag on the cigarette he already lit for a while. He puffed the smoke in small ringlets to the clean air and sucked in again and let the smoke this time go through his nose. Sure, he didn't know what was attacking the boys and had been in the basement for a while, but it made him feel good inside. He wasn't very fond of the fact that Skinner had adopted a boy, a street boy he heard, but on the other hand it would have been a good weapon against the AD, who had become very independent and was losing his respect for the consortium and, what pissed him off more, from him. He still had his mind set on giving him a lesson on who was the boss here.

It was regrettable that the troublesome Agents Mulder and Scully were missing, as he wanted to give them a lesson too. His face went dark with that thought, Scully being cured of cancer. He wanted to know who they managed it. Perhaps she could be taken again for another experiment. This would give him Mulder directly in his hands.

A puppet on the strings.

Skinner turned around and knew who came in unannounced when he smelled the dark smoke of the Morley cigarette. "What the hell do you want? If it's nothing that doesn't help find my agents or my son, forget it. I don't have time for your crap."

"Well, we had nothing to do with this. You brought your own ghosts by adopting a smearing boy from the third world." Cancerman said condescendingly and was totally unprepared when a slamming fist hit his face breaking his nose and his body fell heavy to the floor. He flinched, when Skinner lunged for him and yanked his wrist behind his back and slammed him to the wall.

"Don't you ever call my boy a smearing again because a smearing rat is what YOU are. Get out of my office, you bastard." He said slowly and threw him out of the office and slammed shut the door behind him.

Skinner was trembling from the accumulated hatred he felt towards the cigarette smoking man. Sure, he had made an enemy of life, but what was enough, was enough. He kicked his chair, frustrated. There was no sign of the three. Not in this country. Suddenly it was clear for him. He searched his wallet for the visit card from Washington, the Delegate in Rio de Janeiro.

The connection was made in seconds and he could hear the singing voice of the short man.

"Hello, Washington, this is Walter Skinner from the FBI."

"Walter? What a pleasure to hear your voice. How's Chico by the way?"

"That's why I'm calling. Raul Donato took him away and my two agents with him."

"What? Are you crazy? Donato is dead, buried half a meter into the ground." shouted the Delegate, puzzled.

"I wish I were. He took them; I saw him or whatever it is. I know it sounds crazy, but ... something like Donato took him from me. It wasn't human, Washington." How the hell could he explain something as crazy as he became to believe it was?

Washington felt a chill and closed his eyes. "If you think it's ... inhuman, then I will believe in you. What can I do to help?"

"Well, I believe now, that they are heading back to Brazil, as it was there he wanted to perform his rituals before I killed him. I thought if ... ." he was interrupted by the delegate's voice.

"Take the next flight; I'll arrange the things here. And I will exhume Donato's grave site, to be sure his body is still there."

"Why ... thanks Washington. I know it sounds crazy, but what grabbed me the other day was completely inhuman."

"Don't worry, I've heard and seen stranger things in my life. And as a true Brazilian, I more believe than not and we have our superstitions. No one would believe."

Skinner sat back when the Delegate hung up. Now he had to tell Maggie where he was going. He arranged his flight which would leave in three hours and sent a fax to the delegate which had the flight number and arrival time, and then called Plumper.

"Well, Agent Plumper. What do you think of a flight to Rio?"

He received the answer he had expected and they would meet at departure hour at the airport. He braced himself to meet Maggie now.

Somewhere in the ocean

Friday, August 22nd

19:00 pm

They were awoken by the sudden freezing cold in their cell they were in. Nothing could be seen through the dark as the chilling feel to be observed. Mulder and Scully pulled themselves closer to each other, with Chico in the middle, protected between them as well as possible. Faint first they could hear a heavy breathing sound and two burning eyes appeared from nowhere accompanied by the smell of death. A figure was transforming to reveal Donato hovering over them. The knotted hands with the long fingernails tried to caress the tiny frame of the boy between them, but they closed their arms over him. The breathing sound became stronger. The entity laughed and took their faces into his claw hands to observe them more closely. They could try to protect the boy for now he came just to scare them. He regretted he had sworn to let the pair go he longed for their souls to be his. What a sweet couple they would give to serve him for eternity. But what he needed the most was the boy. But he could haunt them a little bit.

He came closer to the woman's face he held.

"Don't touch them, your monster." shouted the tiny boy.

Donato chuckled not bothering with the rage he could feel the hatred in the boy's voice and forced her head up to meet him for a kiss and suck a bit of her life force. He licked at the soft lips and invaded her mouth. He could feel her choke as his tongue reached her throat and then beyond. Her lover tried to kick him and jerk out of the steel grip which forced Mulder's head up. Finally the entity let go of her and she fell limp to the side and then he turned to the struggling man. Her lover had the right amount of hatred in him now and the demon claimed the mouth to explore and take a bit of his life-force as well, still he was unconscious as the woman.

"You promised to let them go." The boy shouted.

"Why are you complaining? They are still alive, and as I said, I'll let them go in the end. Even if I long for them to be mine. They aren't harmed now, except of a bit of their life-force. I will hold my promise to you when you hold yours. You know. The one I claim is you. More than I claim these two. Hold your promise. Otherwise they will suffer what was meant for them, to be mine for all eternity. I just came in to remind you." The monster said and held the tiny face inches from his to observe with his burning gaze the shiny crystal-blue eyes. He let him go then and retreated, the two were still nagging at his force.

The little boy nestled himself between the two limp frames and cried himself into sleep. Dreaming of the man with the protective arms safe, or so he hoped, from the evil entity. He shuddered and trembled all the more, as he saw what was meant for him in the dark mind.

End of part nine

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TITLE: JUNGLE HEAT II: The Sign of Evil(10/16)

Part Ten

Rio de Janeiro

Friday, August 22nd

20:00 pm

Skinner and Plumper were lodged in the Delegate's large house near the Ipanema beach. If it wasn't for Chico's disappearance and his two trouble some agents, Skinner would have enjoyed his stay. He wouldn't have stayed there, as he didn't want to be a burden, but Washington had insisted. He was very hospitable, and it was fun to observe his numerous family members, so different of any he knew before. And thank God, all spoke at least a bit of English, excluding the baby naturally, who kept crawling towards him all the time, the instant they got there.

They only talked about the case, when they were alone, after dinner.

"Donato's body is still there, Walter."

Skinner sat back on the couch and said: "That's what I feared. We think, this ... Donato is bringing them to Brazil. The killings of boys Chico's age finished at once when they were taken, before that there had been found all second day a boy's body."

Somewhere in the ocean

Saturday, August 23rd

in the morning

The soft motion of the waves until now was interrupted by a sudden jolt and the lightning and thunder bolts took the crew of the little ship by surprise. The growing wind was beginning to throw it like a toy ship in a bathtub to it's own demanders.

Mulder and Scully felt miserable and weak since their last encounter with the evil being last night. The little boy between them was silent and seemingly deep in thought. They were hungry from not getting anything to eat and drink for two days. They began to feel really sick by the rocking motion of the ship, which suddenly began to increase. It seemed to keep on for hours, suddenly ending as it began. It seemed as if nothing had happened.

Their door opened and the sudden glare of light burned in their eyes, after being enclosed for hours in the dark cell.

"Stand up!" the growling voice of one of the coated guards ordered, and yanked first Mulder out shoving him around. Mulder almost couldn't stand, weak as he was and from the awkward position he had to keep himself in the tiny cubicle. He fell to his knee and soon a foot connected with his already sore ribs, so that he gasped for air and curled himself like a fetus. As another foot connected, his eyes began to tear."

"Stop it, you bastard!" shouted Chico and Scully in unsound. While Scully was still struggling to stand, Chico advanced the man and gave him a certain kick of Capoeira with his tiny feet, but not tiny enough to hurt and the man himself fell to the ground holding his guts.

Another man held the raging boy, who was only seeing red and the arm which held him. Chico bit it, and kicked backwards, aiming for the knee, and missed, as the man had already freed him while holding his injured hand.

"Oh you Brazilian wild cat, I will teach you not to ... ." The man began to say but was interrupted by the appearance of the ghostlike entity who shoved him away of the tiny boy.

"What's going on here?! I said to prepare them and nothing else." said the entity holding all in check with his burning eyes. Silently they bound the hands of the kidnapped trio, not without struggle but shoved them to the next cabin where there were three big boxes, and some kind of machine in the middle. Another coated man approached Mulder and picked him with a syringe with some green liquid in it, a third of it was injected into his right arm before he fell limp into the steel grip of the two who held him. Then the man approached Scully and Chico and injected them with the rest."

The men put first Mulder's limp body into the machine and shoved a mask over his face like the ones used by the divers.

It was impossible for Mulder to move a finger in his state, but he could nevertheless hear and feel all what was going on around him. A brown substance began to fill the machine warm to his skin, soon it covered him completely.

Rio de Janeiro, PD

Monday, August 25th

05:30 pm

"Our cover man in the Favelas said there were some rumors about some rituals, but he couldn't find out more than that. It's held in deep secret. The only lead he could give was to go to Mamae Oxum." Said Washington but flushed a bit by that, what didn't pass unnoticed by the AD and agent Plumper.

"Whose that Mamae Ogum?" asked Skinner and raised an eyebrow as the delegate was really blushing now.

"Well, Umbanda woman." When he saw Skinner's blank face to it he continued. "It's a medium, ahm ... Fortune teller. Some kind, I don't know the exact word for it. She helps us sometimes."

"Well, if she can be of any help. Let's go, after this encounter with this Donato it really doesn't matter who we ask for help." said Skinner with a slight grin. "Nevertheless we also have the help of some clairvoyants, when we are stuck in an investigation of abductions."

"Sure? So let's go then. She attends only from seven pm up. Time enough so we can buy some candles and other stuff she needs. And please, she's ... she's very , well, peculiar, do all she demands or she will let us down. Probably she's totally different from the ones you know from USA. And it can go a little bloody, because she is not one of the common clairvoyants, she's also the ialorix , the bab of Umbanda. She lives outside the city in a very old house, more a hut than a proper house, it's very rustic."

After an hour and a half they reached the hut. It was indeed very rustic, nothing the AD and the agent had seen before, it was surrounded by banana trees and other kinds of trees they had never seen before.

It reminded them more of the jungle than anywhere else. To tell the truth, when they left the big city, they were soon on a long road. The civilization seemed to quickly give way to the jungle. Where they looked, they could see only the green of a jungle like place, sometimes they could see a single house or the entrance to fazendas and that was all.

When they reached their destination also the somewhat heavy traffic on the single road turned less and stilled completely, when they entered one of the entrances to reach the silent hut. But there were some cars of all classes there and when they got out of their car they could hear the dull sound of drums and another instrument accompanied by the rhythmic singsong of some people.

Washington motioned them into the hut. The floor was earthen, but clean. Dozens of people were standing in a circle, whose middle contained a very thick dark-skinned woman clothed all in white, with a white turban on her head. She had a big Cuban type cigar in her hands and occasionally puffed on it heavily. Her penetrating gaze met immediately with Skinner's, she pointed at him and said something in a strange growling voice, he couldn't understand and it didn't seem Portuguese either. A very old dark-skinned man, dressed in white like the others in the room, came towards them.

Sr. Washington, Mamae Ogum says you have to wait in the other room. She is going to attend to you alone after the reunion. Please come this way. And you are not clothed properly, please make these men you brought change their clothes to the white ones I'll give you.

"We have to wait in the other room, until the reunion is done. And we have to change our clothes. I forgot to mention that people can just come in white clothes. Sorry, but it is necessary."

"No problem, if it helps." Said Skinner after a look at Plumper and followed with them the old dark-skinned man to another room. He could feel the burning gaze of the old overweight woman following them. He looked around a bit and could make out in the corners and walls images of catholic saints as well as from Indios and old-dark-skinned people. The air was filled with the heavy scent of the candles, flowers and the strong scent of fumigating sticks, bottles and more weird stuff.

The sound of the drums went through and through their bodies, and gave the two FBI men a slight chill. Finally the drums went silent and they heard the several cars drive away.

The door opened and the thick woman entered by bows of the old very dark-skinned man. Her gaze was only upon Skinner in the penetrating way, never wavering. She approached him until she was inches of his face.

"You, I waited for you, my soldier against the evil exu. The sailor."

She said in her growling voice and continued in her surprisingly good English, even Washington was startled to hear. "It's not easy what you seek for. Lucky you the Caboclos, the ancient Indios and the Ers, the children spirits are on your side to help against the evil spirit. He took your little boy and the white pair of the Caboclo. That was his mistake."

She smiled then and sat on a big white chair and the dark old man brought her another big cigar.

"But how is it possible, Mamae Ogum? He is dead and his body is still buried." Asked Washington.

"His death only freed its evil spirit. He was a big Macumbeiro and the evil spirit quiumba and his soul he sold. But he died too soon, so he couldn't go back to his earthen body, he needs the changeling in the form of a pure spirit. He prepared his way by killing some children, but the only one to give him all the power is this man's boy." She looked again at Skinner with a searching gaze and waved him to step closer and sit down beside her on a little stool. It was a little difficult for him to sit down, as the stool was indeed very low. "You have to bring the woman you love here for the final battle of the spirits."

"I can't bring her here."

"Sure you can." She interrupted him, before he could continue.

"She has a strong spirit and her love to you and the boy and the pair is indeed needed as much as yours. It's not a simple spirit to handle with your gun anymore. They are here now. You have two days to bring her with you here. A day longer and it will be too late for all of them. Go now, there's nothing more I can do for you else without the woman. I will light the candles you brought and the offers to calm the exus. Go now." She stood up and left the room.

Rio de Janeiro, Harbor

Monday, August 25th

in the evening

Three long wooden boxes were unloaded from the little ship anchored by the harbor of Rio. A custom officer stopped the men, before they could heave it into a waiting truck. They obeyed and lowered the boxes to the ground and opened one of the boxes.

What's this? asked the customer officer curious, as he looked at the odd brown statue of a man.

As written in the papers, it's one of the three statues to be used in a new Brazilian movie. It's from America. Hollywood.

Oh! Hollywood! Who will be the artists?

Bruna Lombardi and Malu Mader. It will be a thriller.

La Lombardi and Malu Mader? I just love them. He stepped closer and touched the odd statue. It was strangely warm to the touch.

It's a new material they use there, that's why the director had to import it.

Sure, I'm looking forward to watch the movie.

Without further problems the men drove away with the huge truck.

End of part ten

Feedback? sorry to be so mean to Mulder, it gave me a heart break but it seems something is affecting me. Sigh. Well, if Cancerman was near I think I would have sincerely damaged him. He's lucky, he's not in this part. But what isn't can still be. Feedback appreciated.

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TITLE: JUNGLE HEAT II: The Sign of Evil(11/16)

Part Eleven

Rio de Janeiro

by the Delegate

Monday, August 25th

11:55 pm

Skinner saw no other way but to ask Maggie to catch the next flight to meet him in Rio. He thought he was crazy to even acknowledge what the woman had said, but in a way she seemed sincere to him. He sighed; this case was more of an X-File than anything else. Too weird for his taste. It was one thing to read about them in Mulder's and Scully's report-files but to actually live one was another thing.

He was alone in the living room, everybody had gone to sleep an hour ago and he was too nervous to sleep. He had had more nightmares than before and almost all involving Chico. He went to the balcony and stared at the wide open ocean. Rio was beautiful at night. Even in this late hour of the night the endless stream of the headlights from the cars kept going on. The streetlights were balancing gently by the steady undulation of the waves. He could hear the soft urging sound of the sea, the waves breaking on the sandy beach of Ipanema, and he could make out some people dancing to the sound of their drums in the heart going beat of Samba. It was a warm evening, even though it was winter, as he had been told,. Yeah, it was just like Chico had told him, the city seemed never to sleep. He sighed, and hoped his tiny boy was still fine and nothing had happened to him and his two agents.

Only when it began to clear on the horizon he realized that a new day had begun. The hours had rushed through the night with him standing on the balcony. Suddenly a tiny hand tugged at his pants legs.

He looked down, it was the crawling baby. He smiled at the little girl, who demanded to be pulled up.

"So, little girl, how did you manage to break out of your room?" he asked whispering and pulled her up.

"I hope she never manages it, Sr. Walter. I would have a heart attach. Did you stay awake all night? That's not good. You have to sleep. Come in. Breakfast will be ready in some minutes."

Washington's wife said smiling at the huge American. Her accent was heavier than Washington's, and almost all word seemed to end with the "tshii" sound.

After an hour Skinner and Detective Paulo Saiko drove to the airport. Maggie's flight would arrive anytime.

Rio de Janeiro,

In the woods

Tuesday, August 26th

in the morning

Mulder felt like hell. His body was aching and he couldn't move a finger. And for an endless time, it seemed to him, all of his body function seemed to have ceased but his breathing.

Finally a strong light entered through a widening breach into the brown mass he was embedded. The face of one of the coated men appeared. The rest of the mass was torn apart. He could only see the ceiling of an old house as it was still impossible for him to move.

He was brought to a dark room and lowered down to the earthen floor. The men left him in the dark. Not long after he could see Scully from the corner of his eye being left beside him. But the tiny boy wasn't left with them. They locked the door.

Only after hours he managed to move his fingers a bit, when he heard Scully's low voice calling him.

"Mulder. Are you okay?"

He smiled at that and was surprised he could. The stuff they injected them seemed to wear off. He was really relieved, it was too disturbing to be impossible to move. "You bet. What about you?" he asked and tried to move his head to her side. He managed it barely and felt a sudden pain going through his stiff neck, but nevertheless he turned his head to Scully's side.

Time given, their movement improved more. Finally Mulder managed to crawl near Scully. She sat slowly up and flexed her numb limbs and turned towards Mulder as she had heard him wince.

"Let me check your ribs. As I was afraid of. They are cracked and at least two are broken." She groped around and found a sheet, or what she thought was a sheet, by the feel of it. It was thin so it was easy to shred it and she bandaged Mulder's ribcage tightly, or as good as she could manage with it. And then gave him a kiss.

Mulder was glad Scully couldn't see his face, as his eyes began to tear again with the pain which shot through him.

"I don't know about you, but I have enough to be thrown around. What do you think of a frontal attack?" she asked and stood up groaning a bit. After a while she stood steady on her feet and helped Mulder up.

"My thought too. Let me catch some breath first and then we can search around if we find something which can help us. I couldn't see anything, when I got in here, what about you?"

"The only thing I could see was a box in a corner and a bed." Said Scully and touched her way around in the pitch-dark room. She reached around when she heard Mulder groan again. "What happened?" she asked, concerned.

"Well, it did find me." He muttered.

"Huh?"

"The damn box hit me." He said and rubbed his sore sides. It really wasn't his day, or better, days to think of.

"Give me a break, Mulder." She got close to him and reached for the box. "It's empty. Shsh, someone is coming."

They heard the door being unlocked and a soft light came through the opening door, to reveal just one of the coated man. Scully crashed the box over the head of the man and Mulder managed to take the gun from the limp hand. He gave him another blow with the handle of the gun to knock the cringing man totally out.

Slowly after an affirming nod to each other they got out of the room all the while glancing around. They pressed themselves on the corridor walls and continued forward. There was another door and they could hear the raging voice of Chico coming from behind it. Mulder took hold of the door handle and opened it slowly. They could see Chico kicking the leg of one of the men. Another one was standing with his back to the door. Mulder hit him too with the gun handle while Scully took the weapon.

"Don't come near me." Said the man who grabbed Chico in his arms, and held him with his big hand around the throat. "Throw your guns away, or I kill him." He said with a threatening voice. Chico kicked savagely at the knees of the man and momentarily felt his grip loosen a bit.

Without further thinking he bit into the hand forcefully and yanked free. Like a flash Scully was beside him and kicked the man repeatedly and finally knocked him out by a last blow into his guts.

There seemed to be no other men in the house and they went to the front door. Mulder opened it a bit, but closed it again afterwards. All the men were there constructing something, but he couldn't find out what.

"We have to find another way out of here, they are all spread around in front of the house." Said Mulder whispering. They looked around and saw a window in the back. They opened it carefully and looked out.

There was nobody there. Scully got first out of the window and helped Chico and then Mulder. He was really in a bad shape, but managed to get out.

They were surrounded by woods. After some questioning they decided to continue south for a while and then change direction. They got a good distance to the old house until it disappeared behind the thickening wood.

Rio de Janeiro

Tuesday, August 26th

in the evening

Skinner was really apprehensive when they got to the house of Mamae Ogum, with Maggie, Agent Plumper and Washington. All wore white clothes. It was a warm evening, occasionally a soft breeze refreshed the damp August evening. They were still in winter, but all the days he was there he didn't see a cold day or night so far.

Nevertheless Washington wore a light jacket, as he felt cold. For him lower than 70 Fahrenheit was cold. That made Maggie imagine what the summer was like in Rio.

The last cars of the other visitors where leaving the house and the old very dark-skinned man motioned them to follow him. This time they were led to the main room, empty now, but still full with the statues of all kind and sizes.

Some young women and girls, of different types from blondes to mulates, were silently lighting the candles in the colors of white and light blue. Some dark and some white men were sitting in a corner of the room with their instruments, some they had never seen before. They were playing to the heart going rhythm of the drums.

A colorful instrument in the shape of an arrow and a coconut at his base gave a strange sound to add to the supernatural feeling they felt.

The young women sat down in front of a big white chair, and Mamae Ogum entered the room with the old man. She sat down in the big chair and waved Skinner and the others to approach her.

"Sit here, beside me." She said to Maggie, who sat on the little stool. She was really amazed at all she heard and saw so far. But to find Dana, Fox and Chico she would do anything. The older woman was beautiful, even as she was very over weight. The dark face shone a harmony through which made her ebony face even more beautiful, seeming like an African Queen in her white lace dress and the turban-like hat.

"They are fine for now but the evil is behind them." The woman looked up then and waved to the musicians. Slowly a small group of men and women entered from another door and stood in a circle around the present people and began to sing. Some seemed to be in a trance.

Suddenly one of the women entered into the circle and began to shudder as if she was having a seizure and whisper in a strange strangled voice. The old woman stood up from her chair and entered the circle. The old man gave her a Cuban-like cigar and she began to puff it into the face of the shuddering woman whose face had become evil-like and the pupils turned white.

She hissed to mamae Ogum in a strange language but what was more chilling, that her voice had turned into a growling male voice. They hissed back and forth for a while and without any forewarning the woman tried to advance mamae Ogum her hands where suddenly like claws. Skinner stepped between them in a reflex motion, before the claw could hit her but it sliced his forearm instead. Mamae Ogum threw a liquid over the face of the forceful woman and held Skinner away from the woman on the floor. She was screaming in the howling voice of a man and suddenly a dark smoke left her body and she calmed down.

When she raised her face the fierce look had left her and it was serene as before as if nothing had happened at all. Maggie was at Skinner's side to treat the deep cuts on his forearm.

"Let me treat it. What did you think in coming between us, sailor?

You could have died. But, thank you, it's a very strong evil spirit as I said before and was very angry, something happened. We have to prepare for the battle to come."

End of part 11

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TITLE: JUNGLE HEAT II: The Sign of Evil(12/16)

Part Twelve (Mistic)

State of Rio de Janeiro,

Somewhere in the woods

Tuesday, August 26th

in the evening

It was hot in the forest, the only sound they heard was their own hard breath and the occasional jungle sounds. They were on the run for hours now. Mulder was still leading but almost at the end of his strength. The aching pain in his broken ribs almost made him pass out, but he continued, knowing, the farther away they were, the better the chances were to escape. But the first who passed out with a heart breaking scream was the tiny boy.

"Chico!" shouted Scully and bent down beside him. "Come, little one, what's the matter?" she asked gently as the boy's eyes fluttered open after a minute. The huge crystal-blue eyes were filled with tears of pain, whimpering and holding his stomach. He began to curl up and whine in earnest now. Scully checked him over and felt a slight swelling at the spot he held. He was so much slimmer almost pure bones as before he had been adopted by Skinner.

Mulder sat carefully down beside them and began to caress the sweaty strands of blond hair. The left palm of the tiny boy caught his attention. The sign on it was now in a very dark red. He didn't like it, it gave him a bad feeling. "What's the matter with him?" He asked distressed and winced, as if it was himself, when the boy cramped more before his eyes with a sudden shudder and then was still.

"I don't know, but I don't like this swelling on his stomach." She removed a bit of the t-shirt to look at the stomach of the boy. There was a dark-blue hematoma over the swelling and another was beginning on the tiny chest. She had never seen anything like that in her life. And decidedly she didn't like it at all. "I can do nothing for him. He's unconscious now. We have to take him to a hospital, Mulder. And you too. Let's move on."

"I'll take him." Said Mulder wincing a bit when he got up.

"No, I'll take him, and you lead the way. And don't arch. You know as well as I do that you're almost in the end of your strength. Or, do you want me to wind up carrying the two of you? That I surely can't handle." She said with a half smile on her lips by the last statement.

Rio de Janeiro

Tuesday, August 27th

in the morning

They were still at Mamae Ogum's hut outside Rio. Even as the hut was poor, it was clean and larger as they thought it was. She offered them a room, where they all slept in several rustic beds. It was too late for them to return to Rio and they had to return anyway in the morning.

Even though he didn't sleep the previous night, he remained awake for hours with Maggie curled beside him in his arms, as they shared a bed. His wound burnt a bit but after Mamae Ogum's ministrations it wasn't as bad as it seemed in the first place. He still couldn't believe what he had seen with his eyes what had happened last evening.

Maggie took all very lightly and didn't have shown any fear.

There was more a determined fierceness in her sight, which amazed him and made him love her all the more. He didn't tell her yet what Dr. Nichols had said about Chico and the swellings. Finally he slept the remaining hours left.

"Walter, wake up." Said Maggie softly some hours later to the sleeping man beside her. Even in his sleep there was a rug between his eyes telling stories of his restless and preoccupied nights and days, until the disappearance of Chico, Dana and Fox. Now that it seemed, that her daughter and Fox had finally found each other, this being took them and the sweet little boy, she loved now as much as it would have been her own child.

She had already taken a shower in the primitive but clean bathroom before she went back to the room, they, Washington, Plumper and Walter shared.

Skinner awoke with a start by the soft sound of the voice.

"Morning." He whispered after a kiss on her mouth.

"You can take a shower in the bathroom." She smiled and helped him up. When they were in front of it she said smiling. "But let me tell you first the rules of it."

The shower consisted in a water cane and a shower piece on it. It was tied to electricity by a simple cable without further securities, in order to have warm water you had to turn a switch to warm water mode at the piece itself, before you turned the water on. That is if you didn't mind a shock otherwise. And no toilet paper into the vase. He shook his head and thought seriously first, if he shouldn't take a cold shower.

When he came out Washington was already awaiting his turn and Plumper was coming out from the small bedroom as well, rubbing his eyes. But he stopped mid yawn, when one of the young women passed him, in his eyes the prettiest of all as he had noticed yesterday.

She was very exotic with her long almost-to-her-waistband reaching black hair with it's blue gleam. Her face was Hawaiian-like in a way. He supposed she had something Indio in her, she was short, but what legs.

"Tststs, Agent Plumper, don't forget to breathe again." said the AD to the startled man and followed the young woman to the kitchen, where Maggie was already waiting. Plumper followed him, a bit flushed in his face.

"Jurema, can you please bring the coffee for our guests?" asked Mamae Ogum the long hair, with a wide smile on her full lips.

"Sure, Mamae Ogum." she said obediently with a slight glance to the handsome American.

Somewhere in the woods

Wednesday, August 27th

in the evening

Suddenly the world seemed to break apart. The immediate surroundings became as cold as if they were back in Alaska. The howling sound of pure rage made Mulder and Scully with her tiny burden run much faster.

But they were without a chance against the evil being. A heavy blow from nowhere launched Mulder some feet away and he smacked against a tree trunk. In his agony he felt his right shin bone crack with the impact, but without further thinking he crawled back to Scully and the little boy. He froze, when he saw Scully being launched into the air and thrown towards a near bush and crash on the ground.

The only one who remained still in this havoc of whirling leaves and branches and all which remained loose, was the tiny boy, still unconscious.

The evil being appeared like a dark shadow in his black coat and pulled Mulder effortlessly only inches from his face. The burning eyes were observing him with a sardonic gleam.

"Did you think, you could run away from me? I'll teach you to ..."

"Stop it. You promised." The little boy shout out, struggling to sit up, and face the evil demon. He wasn't any more afraid for himself, but for his two friends. You promised. he said with regained force in Portuguese.

And you promised too. Retorted the demon in the same language and held Mulder higher into the air, as if preparing to slam him to the ground.

Don't! I promised and I will hold on it. But, please, don't hurt them anymore. the boy begged and got up on unsteady feet. He was hurting less, but he could still feel something grow within himself, but he wasn't going to think about it. He missed his father, and the tiny shoulders sagged down a bit. He never was going to see him again or Maggie, but he would be strong and bear it. With a new resolve forming he held his shoulders proudly up again, he was a Skinner now, and Papai would be proud of him.

Mamae Ogum's hut

Same evening

"He has them again." Said the old woman and poured some more spices into the smoking bowl. "We have till Friday night to find his hiding place. It's somewhere near Rio. Come here, sailor. Iemanja , the Queen of the Ocean, is on your side, the Caboclos and the Ers. I know, you're not a believer, but you don't have to be. Just don't make them angry at you by laughing or something else on the ritual I'm performing. There is more between Heaven and Earth than just your scientific ways. Come here, woman, sit beside him and take his hands in yours, as your mother strength is what the evil fears more."

She held her hands out to receive a bowl from Jurema full of some water it seemed and white rose petals. "All think now just on the three. Envision them healthy and secure in your arms." Slowly she began to splash the bowls contents over the heads of Skinner and Maggie while walking around them and talking all the time in a strange guttural language. Suddenly a dark shadow was forming in the middle of the room and the warm temperature sank some degrees. Like a blur the phantom-like shadow reached for Skinner and Maggie. They could only see the claw hand trying to hit them. In pure reflex Skinner embraced Maggie to protect her against it. He could feel his back burning by the crawls. Strange white smoke circles were forming around them, and the dark shadow disappeared like it had appeared. The white smoke circles transformed themselves into shiny humanoid forms.

The first was the translucent form of a beautiful white woman.

Her long straight black hair reached her waist, waving as if she was in the water. Her eyes were blue, like the ocean, her mouth small but full with ruby like lips, smiling now to them, with a sad but seductive glance in her eyes.

Mamae Oxum bowed her head in marvel and whispered, "Od-ia-, Iemanja!"

The young women began to sing in a tender and lamented song. The second was the form of an Indio with a bow in his hands and the last the form of a child, as they appeared they disappeared, leaving nothing behind as the strong sent of roses and the smell of the sea and jungle.

Not only had the Americans felt a chill by the events.

The drum sounds were increasing in its intoxicating rhythm and all were ordered to kneel down and hold their hands together in a circle. Mamae Ogum remained in the middle and splashed more of the bowls content over all of them while murmuring in the guttural language. She went back to the big kettle and poured the rest of the water and petals in it and waved them to come near.

"Watch and continue to hold your hands."

Images were forming on the smoky superficies in the kettle. Mulder's face appeared, distraught and with trails of tears on the slightly dirty cheeks. Soon Scully's face appeared and nestled between them they saw Chico sleeping as all of them, not less dirty, resting his head on Mulder's chest and encircling Scully's waist with his right arm. He had his left thumb in his mouth like a little child seeking for protection. The images gained more force for a moment, but zoomed out to show the dark room they were in and then the surroundings of the old fashioned hut.

"Chico." Skinner whispered in despair, when the images finally disappeared in the kettle and nothing could be seen as the white petals swimming gentle in the clear water, with their own reflection mirroring to them.

End of part twelve

Feedback? I know, I know. After this they need a vacation.

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TITLE: JUNGLE HEAT II: The Sign of Evil(13/16)

Part Thirteen

Somewhere in the woods

Friday, August 29th

in the afternoon

The three captives could hear the steady hammering outside the hut for hours now. Mulder felt miserable and exhausted.

Scully bandaged Mulder as well as she could. The boy begged for wood sheets to immobilize Mulder's broken shin bone. But she knew that he and Chico needed a hospital more than anything. The swellings had grown more pronounced and in several parts of his tiny frame. His body temperature was a little hot to the touch, but thank God he seemed to be without pain this time. He was just very tired.

They had been left alone in the dark room since their recapture. Scully laid back beside Mulder and took the tiny boy into her arms caressing his moist strands of blond hair from his forehead.

"You know, it's all my faulty. I shouldn't have gone with Papai. I should have remained in the streets where I belong. So nothing would have happened to you all." the boy said with a sad gaze to them.

"Here you go. Are you taking lessons from Mulder? Nothing is your fault, Chico. Skinner loves you so much. Somehow we are going to get through this. You will see. And we all love you so much, don't we, Mulder?" She looked at him, taking his hand into hers, smiling.

He smiled back and caressing the silky hair of the boy reassured, "You will see, any moment Skinner will come storming in and rescuing us from this havoc. Sure, he will kick my butt for being captured again. He won't miss it." He leaned back. His body ached all over.

"He surely won't do it, Tio Foxi. " The boy yawned and laying his head down on Mulder's chest, said almost whispering. "He loves you and Tia Dana very much. Why don't you like it when I call you Tio Foxi? It's such a nice name. In Brazil we all call other people by the first name. And ..." Chico fell asleep, he was so tired.

They awoke when the men came in and yanked Chico out of their protective arms.

"Hey!" shouted Scully and tried to get up. She was shoved back, falling hard on Mulder. He winced in pain, but held her tight to him. The men in red went out with the boy and let them locked in.

"Are you okay, Mulder?" She examined him. The door opened again.

The men dragged them out with such harshness that they almost hit on the doorframe. And finally they could see what all that hammering was about.

Beside the little hut the men had raised a church like construction. There was only one wall, where also a big altar has been erected. On it they could see the tiny naked frame of Chico. The boy was shuddering in the fresh evening air. The swellings were more pronounced now.

There were two stacks like totems beside the altar and they were bound to them. Mulder to the right and Scully to the left, in a half standing position. On the other side there were a handful of the men in red playing drums and other instruments. The sound was reverberating through the wood. The roof part over the altar was open to the dark sky with the first stars shining through, illuminating the altar with the tiny boy on it. Hundreds of red and black candles illuminated the rest of the tent-like construction.

There was no sign of the evil being yet. All the men in red, about thirty, gathered around the altar in a half circle. They began to hum to the steady tact of the drums. Three of them entered the half circle and began to sing in a strange growling language. Their voices were so deep that the ground vibrated a bit.

Two men from each side approached Mulder and Scully. They held their left wrists up and bleeding them with sharp daggers let the blood flow into golden goblets. When they were almost filled, two of them went to the altar and standing motionless beside the two ends held the goblets up in front of them.

Mulder sagged down, he felt very weak, the only thing that was holding him up a bit was that he was still bound to the totem by his wrists above his head as well as Scully. It made him feel worse to see her this way. Her right face side was blue by a blow she had received from one of the bastards, when she tried to help him. In the corner of her mouth he could still see the blood. He was beginning to feel an uncontrollable rage towards all in his own helplessness.

Scully saw his gaze to her and licked the blood away from the corner of her mouth. Her right face side was in pain, but she didn't let out a sound. She had never shouted out in pain, and wasn't going to do it now. Playing with her brothers she had learnt soon to show no pain, in order not to be called a whiny girl. She looked at Mulder again, smiling, and straightened herself up. The blood had slowed down to flow from the wrist cuts and began to dry on their arms.

She looked to the tiny frame on the altar. Chico seemed in a trance.

Only the steady movement from his chest reassured her that he was still alive. It broke her heart to see him so battered. He was so small. His eyelids fluttered open and he looked at them. He managed a little smile before he closed his eyes again.

There was a crescendo in the voices of the three men in the half circle. The air turned cooler. A small mist was forming among the three men. Soon it transformed into the dark shadow of the evil being, with his back to the altar. Slowly he turned around. First the fiery eyes gazed towards the tiny still frame of the boy, smiling. The burning gaze held the couple captive when he turned to them and he was slowly approaching.

He held first Mulder's head up, gently first and observed him intensively. The stale smell of death and rottenness was making Mulder nauseous, when the pock-marked face was inches from his own. The red gleaming eyes burnt like fire into his soul, holding him captive and he felt a shudder going through him. The grip on his head became tighter like forged steel, hurting his temples. A headache was forming all the more; it felt like his brain was being violated by the other.

Finally the being released him and went towards Scully.

Mulder sagged down again in a semi state of unconsciousness. The dull pain in his head made him vomit. He forced himself to open his eyes to see what the entity was doing to his Scully.

"What a pity. You would give such pretty slaves." The entity whispered observing Scully with his intensive burning gaze. He inclined his head to one side and passed his long rotten tongue over his own small lips. He longed to take more of their strong life-forces into himself, but he had already taken too much from them, more would be threatening to their lives. The boy was more important, and to have him willingly to go through it he had to let them free. But what a pity.

He let go of her too and turning back to the tiny frame on the altar, looked up through the hole in the roof over the altar. He could already see a little part of the full moon shining through. The time of transformation was near. Waving to the two men in red to come near and taking the goblets from their hands, they sipped at one then at the other, drinking a part of the fresh blood. He could already feel life itself.

The boy was motionless on the altar, pale to the moonlight. The entity wet his fingertip with the remaining blood and began to write on the tiny forehead the same sign as the one on the fragile palm and continued to write over the chest strange symbols 'til all the body was overwritten by them and gave the goblets back to the two men in red. "All of you, my children, drink. Eternity will be awaiting you, who remained faithful to me." One by one took a sip of the blood until the last of them emptied the goblets.

The moonlight was now directly over the pale tiny frame, illuminating it. Chico opened his eyes, he knew what was going to happen and was scared, but never averted his gaze from the burning eyes, now fiery. He could see the claw-like hands coming towards him holding his head between them. The entity's body began to gleam in a red light and darkening 'til it reached the color of purple wine.

He could feel something flow into him through the sparks of the glimmer around the entity's body. It wasn't hurting, but he felt weaker and weaker and soon he was drifting to semi-consciousness.

He felt like he was in a dream. Dark shadows surrounded him first, to give place one by one to lightning ones, glimmering in pure light rose and a stronger light blue.

"No!" he could hear someone scream. He ringed to open his eyes, but his lids felt so heavy and he drifted into darkness. Unbeknownst to him hell broke lose around the altar. The claw hands loosened their grip on the tiny frame. The entity growled in rage by the disturbance of his ritual. It was almost fulfilled.

He looked up to the hole in the roof. He was in enraged.

The hour had passed. It was too late. And then he saw him. The one who had killed his mortal body. The entity let go of the boy, he was useless for the time being anyway, and turning roared to his men.

"Kill them all, my children. Kill them." Suddenly all the place was full of Policemen and two women. The entity launched for the one with the white lace dress but flinched away, when she threw a powder towards him. Where the powder had touched it burnt the rotten flesh away.

The howl of pure agony unleashed a storm. All the people struggled to keep upright.

A dark mist was forming around them, which separated itself to transform into eerie humanoid forms from the worst nightmare. One police officer was struck down by one of the evil forms.

Skinner broke his way through trying to reach Chico on the altar on the other side. The men in red attacked him from all sides. He almost froze in his tracks, when he saw one of them attacking Maggie. He didn't know, where he had been with his mind to bring her along, after they found out with Mamae Oxum's help where this place was. But knew deep within himself, that nothing would have held Maggie back. Nothing at all. He struggled to reach her but stopped in midway. She already had taken care of the attacker. He never thought she had a right fist like that and would be able to knock the man out. Now he knew where Scully had her resolve from, and stubbornness and what else more.

Chico was still motionless on the altar. He seemed tinier than before.

The AD reached him and checked for his pulse. It was faint, but still there. He sighed with relief and snuggling him into his arms turned away from the altar. Donato was some feet away from him, the burning eyes observing him with hatred in his gaze, but couldn't approach him.

Washington and Plumper were in his way. A blow from one of the men in red almost broke his nose. The AD staggered a bit back with his light burden in his arms, but recuperated rapidly and shook his head. His nose was bleeding slightly. He held Chico in one arm and smashed his fist into the other's face that he fell some feet away and hit his head on the stone altar before another attacked. But for this one he was prepared and his fist touched the other's chin and knocked him out.

The entity finally approached Scully still bound to the stack, but struggling to break free of it. She had almost succeeded when she felt the evil being holding her head between his ugly claws. The pock-marked face was inches from hers his mouth almost touching her trembling lips.

Suddenly the face turned away from her and he hissed showing his pointed teeth in a eerie grimace to the one who disturbed him. It was the other woman with rage in her face. She was holding a small bottle in her hands and threw again from its content over him. He hissed in pain now and growling released Scully from his tight grip.

"Mom! How... What the hell are you doing here?" whispered Scully unbelievingly and starred at her dumbfounded. The entity moaned when the woman threw more of the bottle's contents over him. He retreated and shoved the policemen in his back away with a wave of his hands, slicing their chests with his crawls. Then he yanked Mulder from the stack not concerned with the groans of pain from the battered man. He threw him over his shoulders and rushed out of the place like a bat out of hell.

"No!" shouted Scully and with all her remaining force freed herself from the restraining cords and dashed behind the evil being with Mulder in his claw grip.

End of part thirteen

Feedback? Did you like it? Was it creepy? Out of Character? ... Flame

me then. Just one thing, Chico likes to be hugged, a typical Brazilian.

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TITLE: JUNGLE HEAT II: The Sign of Evil(14/16)

Part Fourteen

Somewhere in the woods

Friday, August 29th

at night

Scully stumbled behind the evil being through the woods. She heard other footsteps following her. The distance between her and the demon was increasing step by step. She couldn't see them anymore after a while.

"Mulder!" she shouted and stopped a moment to take breathe. Her body was trembling with the effort of chasing the demon. First she thought she was having some hallucination when ghost like forms were passing her, shining in different shades of rose and light blue. After a second she ran behind them, trying not to think about what these shinny forms meant. Na impossibility, but she would think about the scientific meaning when she had Mulder back in her arms. She tripped over a branch, but before she fell on the earthy ground, strong arms held her up. She looked startled up, it was Skinner, his face grim, even as it loosened a bit at her sight.

"Don't worry. We'll find him." He said already, holding her by her elbow and running again behind the shinny forms.

A grotto in the woods up the hill

Same night

Mulder felt miserable. He had passed out a few times and suddenly found himself in a grotto. The cave was enormous with a natural illumination by its walls. More specifically, by brilliant stones, which formed the same sign as on Chico's palm? Mulder tried to crawl, when the evil being had left him not too gently on the stone ground.

"Where do you think you're going? Or should I say crawling? Oh no. You'll stay here with me, my little one." The creature reached for Mulder and pulled him gently to him this time and began to caress with one nail the unmarked face tracing its edges just inches from his own pock-marked. Mulder squirmed and tried to pull away, but he held him tight with hands like steel, the eyes burning like coals in steady fire. His stale breath made Mulder again nauseous, its smell of death more pronounced now. The cold mouth descended on his trembling lips, the slimy tongue forced his mouth open. Mulder could feel it descending his throat as the times before. He choked and struggled to break free hitting desperately on the shoulders and pulling at the hair.

Mulder's struggle became weaker and finally he lost all his force and darkness surrounded him.

The creature continued to suck at the weakening life-force oblivious to all else until he felt something pulling at his hair and a crippling pain going through him from his back. He growled in pain but held still to retrieve all of the life-force. He needed it to continue for another encounter with the one who could give him eternal life. Finally he sensed life expelling from the still body now in his claws while the hands of his tormentor or what they were yanked him from the lifeless body.

He was surrounded by shiny forms, ethereal. Their closeness was hurting him and the one who had pulled on his hair came into his range of vision. It was the blue shinning form of an old and short Indio, his face distorted by pure rage.

The shinny forms were closing around him while he saw the red headed woman and the hated man approach.

"Mulder!" shouted Scully again and dashed to the lifeless body on the cold stone ground and kneeled beside him. She couldn't feel any pulse. She held him tight, rocking back and forth, desperately and silently weeping. It wasn't fair.

Skinner was in front of her with his gun ready to shoot. But of what use was the gun with ... ghosts? Or what the heck they were.

Nevertheless, he aimed for the head of the creature, when it tried to approach them.

Scully looked up in time to see the pock-marked face laughing evilly at her. Only then she acknowledged the brilliant forms with blue and rose breezes through her teary eyes. The shinny frames were holding Donato captive while another shiny frame struck out, with a golden sword in its hands, and decapitated him. She saw the look of horror in the last moment on the burning eyes and felt a comfort for a brief moment to see the evil creature die. Something was familiar to her on the executor's figure while the others silently disappeared.

Her heart stood still for a moment.

"Paje." She whispered unbelievingly as the executor turned around his face as gentle as she could remember in its ethereality. Her tear stained face turned back to Mulder. He was all that mattered to her at the moment. How could she live without him? She almost flinched when she saw the ethereal hand of the old Indio touching gently Mulder's forehead, brushing the stubborn lock away of the all too pale face.

"Pia pyra." He murmured, smiling. He looked her deep into the eyes and brushed her eyes close while he called her by the name he had given her. "Tapitaoby."

When she opened them again he was gone. Mulder suddenly stirred in her grip, coughed heavily, and opened his eyes tiredly.

"Scully." He said smiling and fell asleep.

She wept, the tears of joy now running silently down her face. A squeezing hand on her shoulders made her look up to see Skinner's reassuring smile, before he turned away to meet Maggie and the tiny boy in her arms.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't believe what he had seen, and still felt a chill going through him. He embraced Maggie and took Chico back into his arms. The tiny boy was still unconscious but his breath was normal. Washington's white jacket was wrapped around the naked body. He turned back to look at Donato. Mamae Ogum was pouring a powder over him and stepped back. The creature began to burn with high flames. It decayed in seconds leaving no trace behind.

In the end it was as if it never had existed.

"Let's get out of here." The overweight but beautiful woman said. "Immediately." She hushed them. The walls were trembling slightly and increasing.

An earthquake. Shouted a police man with wide open eyes in his terror.

"Don't be stupidity, Gonçales. There are no earthquakes in Brazil."

Admonished Washington his man and hurried to the two agents. "Someone help me, with this worrisome fellow. We have to get out of here." He held Mulder up by his shoulders and Plumper and Scully by his feet.

They all hurried out of the falling cave, the walls and rocks fell around them almost burying one. Most of the police men were already out of the cave, but the courageous ones waited 'til their Delegate was out with his burden and helped the fallen one.

Skinner glanced around. All were fine. He sighed in relief. When they got back to the hut and the church like construction the remaining men clothed in red were being taken away from the place. Washington gave some orders in Portuguese he couldn't understand. His worried glances balanced between Mulder and Chico.

Washington approached him, "Don't worry, Walter. I've ordered a helicopter to bring you to the hospital as soon as possible."

After some minutes the helicopter reached the place on the hill near Rio and left the Delegate and his remaining police officers and the young FBI agent Plumper behind.

"How, the heck am I going to explain this havoc? Paperwork. Is it as bad as here with paperwork in the States?" he asked Plumper exasperated but smiling nevertheless. He would do any paperwork happily as long as his American friends and the tiny boy were healed and safe.

Sao Benedito Hospital in Rio

Saturday, August 30th

Past midnight.

Skinner sat beside the bed on a stool, holding Chico's fragile hand while caressing with the other the sweaty locks of his tiny boy.

He was still unconscious, his small frame full of swellings in all shades of blue.

Mulder was still in surgery. Battered but back again from the dead as he understood it.

Maggie entered the room and stood beside him a hand on his shoulder, "Fox is fine. They will bring him in half an hour to this room." When Skinner looked up she saw tears silently running down his face. He lowered his gaze a bit, embarrassed to be found in a weak state, but reached for her and drew her on his lap still holding with his right the tiny hand. She lowered her head onto his shoulder and held hers over the two interlaced hands.

The door opened again and a soft smell of roses filled the air of the room.

"Not the medicine of the men will wake up this boy. It's not from this world. Let Mamae Oxum take care of it. He is just asleep between our world and the one of the sprit. His young spirit has suffered too much." She stood on the other side of the bed and caressed the sweaty hair of the blond but tan boy. She began to pray in the strange language, closing her eyes. She didn't acknowledge when the door opened again and Mulder was brought in with Scully holding his hand. The nurses silently moved him to the bed and left after a glance to the other bed.

Scully tilted her head to one side and lifted her two eyebrows.

It was rather odd to see the overweight woman, but no more odd than seeing Skinner, all in white, with her mother sitting on his lap. It made her feel more distinctly that they were really going to marry.

Mamae Ogum opened her eyes again and said whispering, "Call him now, sailor."

Skinner obeyed without hesitation, "Chico. Chico, come on. Wake up." He could feel the tiny hand stirring, fluttery like the soft motion of butterfly wings. He leaned a bit forward and tried to call him again.

"Meu filho, wake up. Papai is here." He said the words he had learnt in Portuguese.

The tiny head turned a bit to the side. They could hear a heavy inhaling breathe sound. "Papai? Papai." But he didn't wake up yet.

End of part fourteen

me then. Just one thing, Chico likes to be hugged, a typical Brazilian.

Hey, did you honestly think I could kill Mulder? No way. He needs a

hospital so. ... Hospital???? Arch. He's still in Brazil, Brazilian Hospital.

Geee, I have to hurry to take him out of there soon.

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TITLE: JUNGLE HEAT II: The Sign of Evil(15/16)

BTW: Meu filho means My son.

Part Fifteen

Sao Benedito Hospital in Rio

Saturday, August 30th

Past midnight.

The tiny head turned a bit to the side. They could hear a heavy inhaling breath sound. "Papai? Papai." But he didn't awake yet.

Mulder remained motionless, just held Scully's hand tighter. She held his with both hands then and watched him observing Skinner when the AD leaned further forward and began to caress the silky hair, tenderly with his big hand. Mulder thought about his own father. The only caress he had ever received from him in his life was the hug on the day his father had been killed. He sighed. He looked up, startled, when Scully was running her fingers through his hair, trying to brush away the stubborn lock from his forehead. She had a secret smile on her lips and began to caress his face just with the fingertips gently tracing the outlines of his eyes, over his nose to his tip down to his lips. She leaned forward and kissed him on his lips. She sat down again but remained with her hand still caressing his hair, while she turned to watch what was going on.

"That's right, sailor. Show him how much you love him. Always remember, that he is a Brazilian in his heart, a South American boy. But I see, you already perceived it." Mamae Ogum said, smiling with her accented singing voice. "An affectionate kiss wouldn't harm, would it?" She was smiling from one ear to the other, when the stiff marine type American leaned fore, kissing the forehead and cheeks of the tiny boy. There was still hope in this big guy, she thought to herself. The tiny blond boy would see to it. Lucky boy, to find a new affectionate family.

The boy's eyes finally fluttered open. There was a scared look first, but focusing immediately on Skinner's face and eyes it turned shiny by the watering crystal blue eyes. Chico laced his arms tightly around the large neck and kissed the whole slightly stubbly face, murmuring among the kisses in Portuguese. He just stopped, when he felt Maggie's hand caressing his hair. With a happy smile he embraced her too with one arm, as the other still held Skinner and kissed her with a smacking sound on the corner of her mouth. He whispered softly into her ear, "Mamae."

They were interrupted when the door opened again and a huge blond man entered. The doctor glanced around with his eyebrows disappearing behind his white gold hair fringe. His eyes were incredibly green and began to smile. It wasn't all day he saw strangers this way. A woman on a balding man's lap both embraced by a obviously Brazilian boy half on their laps too. A couple on the other bed, with a red headed woman kissing the dark-haired man and a big dark woman in a white lace dress standing between the beds. Now he grinned. Mamae Ogum. What brings you here? I hope you're not sick. Nevertheless, it's always a pleasure to see you here.

No, I'm healthy as always. I was just visiting these people and trying to wake up this boy. But let's talk in English, besides Chico no one speaks Portuguese, Dr. Jorge. She said still smiling from one ear to the other and gave the doctor three smacking kisses on his cheeks.

"Americans?" he asked then in perfect English. By Mamae Ogum's affirmative nod he turned around and held his hand to the woman on the balding man's lap. He smiled when he saw her trying to stand up.

"Don't worry. Stay seated. Nice to meet you. I'm George Stevenson from Connecticut. Lost in Rio since the first time I stepped on this country's ground. It seems to have glue on it or a secret spell from this enchanted woman with the golden heart." He shook Skinner's hand, while he was talking and turned to the nice couple shaking their hands at once. One with his right and the other with his left forcefully.

He was like a mountain rock and incredible huge, at least half a head bigger than Skinner. Introductions done he turned to the tiny boy. Chico looked up, open mouthed when the doctor approached him.

"So, that's the sleepy head everybody is talking about. Gee, what do we have here?"

"Where?" asked the tiny boy, whispering, and tried to look over his shoulder, but not ready to let go of Skinner's neck.

"Here." Answered the doctor and reached behind Chico's ear and a lollipop appeared. "Odd place to hide a lollypop. Don't you think?"

Chico giggled and lost a bit of his apprehension.

The doctor sat half on the bed. "Could you lie down for a moment? Then you can embrace your Daddy again. Okay? That's fine. Don't worry, I'm just going to tickle you a bit. No tickle?" while he continued to talk he examined the boy. He saw a lot of swellings on the tiny body. He had never seen something like that. But as he was examining, they were slowly diminishing before his eyes. He glanced at Mamae Ogum. She smiled, twinkling her eye at him. "Mamae Ogum, if you keep on with this, I won't have any work. There, they vanished. Strange country. I think, I'm going fishing again. Ever thought to join our staff?" He tickled the boy a bit then turned to Skinner. "We will make some x-rays, but it seems nothing is wrong with him. After that settled, I think you can take him home in a few days. And you Ma'am look that this boy gains some weight. To be slim is fine, but that is ridiculous. Aha, there I see I have a patient." He ruffled Chico's hair and stood up and approached Mulder. He examined him, "Was he in some battle? So far he is fine. A few days of rest and you can take him home. What was that? A vacation in this marvelous country to the spirits? You guys never heard about beaches sun and the sea? A jungle to visit, in a secure distance so, or what else?" He stood up. "Sorry for the accommodation, but it was the only free room. And as you seem to be from the same family ... . I'll let you alone now. And you young boy, eat all they serve you. That goes for you too." He looked at Mulder. "It's bad for our image to have such rickety patients." He tapped at his own chest. "Otherwise they think, I eat all the patients food." He smacked on Mamae Ogum three kisses on her cheeks and left after a hug.

"Jorge, never changes." Said Mamae Oxum smiling and turned herself to Maggie first. "I have to go now. Take care of the two." She kissed her on the cheeks and before Skinner could react he received the same treatment and she was already approaching Mulder. He stiffened a bit, when she kissed him on his cheeks and a third on his nose tip. "What a sweet guy. Oh, if I were some years younger." She turned to Scully then. "Ah, the red head." She gave her the traditional three kisses too and whispered something into her ear. Scully blushed deeply, but grinned.

Finally she turned back to Chico. She embraced him and gave him the kisses. "Don't forget to thank Yemanja properly, Chico." The boy nodded. After all, he was still a Brazilian, even when he was an American now too.

The door opened again.

"Ah, this room seems like a bus waiting room. Thomas, give Mamae Ogum a hug before I leave. Washington, fine your here. Bring me home. This place is becoming to crowded. She waved a good-bye while she left, taking the Delegate with her.

"Thanks, Mamae Ogum." Called Skinner behind the retreating woman.

"You can thank me by taking care that the boy doesn't enter another freeze." She turned around. "Open your eyes to the smoking man. He is dangerous." and disappeared. Skinner raised his eyebrow, but said nothing. But he surely wouldn't forget the warning.

"I'll be back in an hour, to take you home." said the Delegate before he hurried behind the overweight but beautiful dark-skinned woman.

Agent Plumper went to the tiny boy's bed.

"Hi, Tio Thomas. Fine to see you here too."

The agent ruffled the silky hair as everybody seemed to do, when they got in touch with him. "Hi, champion. Nice to see you back too." He turned to Skinner. "Sir, all the remaining men have been arrested. The most died by the fire exchange with the police forces. Some are drug dealers, well known by the police and some unknown thieves. The more infamous ones died. I think, this case is closed. Except convicting the men who were arrested. I don't know what happened to Donato, and there is no trace left from him or what it was. The corpse in the sepulture has been cremated."

"That should be the end of it." said Skinner and squeezed the puny hand of Chico reassuringly.

"He is gone now." Said Chico whispering and yawned a bit. "I can't feel him anymore. I thought I wasn't going to see you anymore, Papai. And Mamae and Tio Foxi, why does he don't like it when I call him Foxi? It's such a nice name and he surely seems like a foxi and Tia Dana and Tio Thomm..." He fell asleep with a contented smile. It had been a long and difficult day.

Wednesday, September 3rd

"Finally I can get out of here. I'm sick of hospitals." Said Mulder when he was being wheeled out of the Brazilian hospital. Not that it had been that bad. In fact, he had thought it would be a less well equipped hospital, as they were in a third world country. But as so much here, the modern took partnership with the ancient. A country full of contraries indeed.

"So take care of yourself the next time you follow a goose chase or whatever. This way we don't have to visit you all the time in a different hospital too." Said Skinner with a raised eyebrow to his troublesome agent. It was a sunny day again. What a blessed winter they had in this exotic country. He smiled at his tiny boy in his arms and kissed him on his cheek. The boy immediately kissed him back while embracing him around his neck to give him a big hug. Skinner flushed a bit, when he saw Mulder staring at him open mouthed.

"A Limo?" Mulder asked, dumbfounded.

"Courtesy from the Rio PD. Washington said it was the only car they had to take all of us at once. Otherwise they had only the double cabin Fords of the Department." Said Scully with a smile, when she helped Skinner and the Police man who was their driver to get Mulder into the backseat with his leg in a cast. They all sat in the back seats of the large limo, Chico as usually on Skinner's lap with Maggie beside him. Mulder was on the other side with Scully.

The driver made some unusual maneuvers to get past the cars.

"That's why I didn't hazard to drive here. The people are crazy. I hardly saw someone stopping on yellow. They pass even when it is becoming red. And who he walks doesn't seem to know what the zebra crossings are for." Said Skinner holding tightly to the handle over the car door.

Chico giggled, "Papai, it's just because the drivers don't respect the traffic lights and sometimes it is safer to cross in the middle of the street than on the zebra crossing. You see? When they stop, the most cars stop on the crossing. There is no way for the walkers than to pass beside the crossing in order not to be trampled over. And you have to learn to look on both sides of the street, because some drivers don't know that there are some streets which are one way." He caressed his father's face absently while he was looking out of the window. He stiffened. "Papai, can we stop a moment? I think I saw Melissinha. It's sure Melissinha. She has a big Teddy bear in her arms." Chico said excited.

Skinner requested their driver to stop for a moment. After parking Chico stepped out of the huge car and began to run, but was soon without breath. He still hadn't recovered completely from his ordeal.

Skinner was behind him and took him in his arms. "Tell me, where she is, Chico. I'll bring you there."

"Can you see her over there? It's the tiny girl with the red hair. Perhaps she is lost. She should be home by her mother and not on the streets." Skinner went with him there. Mellissinha, it's me Chico. Did you get lost in the city? the little girl of about three to four years old looked up. Her thumb was in her mouth and the face was smeared by dirt and tear tracks. Her clothes weren't in any better shape.

Skinner saw that Maggie had followed them and that she was looking, marveled at the baby girl. Chico sat on the ground beside her, when Skinner let him down. He embraced the tiny girl, not concerned that his own clothes became dirty.

Chico, happy see you. Mamae is angel now. Is that you Mamae and Papai? asked the little girl, smiling up at the dark haired woman and the huge man she had seen a long time ago, when he came to the Favela where she lived before, and taken Chico away.

Is nobody taking care of you, Melissinha?

The baby girl shook her head violently. Tio Albeto, say I go away. So I go, but Tchau-tchau go with me. She said and showed her old dirty Teddy bear.

Chico related all she said to Maggie and Skinner, when Maggie asked what the baby girl had said. "Walt, we have to take her somewhere. She can't be left in the streets." Maggie said and held tentatively her arms out to the girl. The baby girl accepted without hesitation to be taken in the gentle arms. She smiled at the dark haired woman again.

Me dirty. You smell good. she said when she saw that she left a smearing spot on the woman's dress. Maggie looked at Chico for a translation.

"She said she is dirty and that you smell very good."

"Tell her it doesn't matter and after a bath she will smell good too."

"Well, Washington will know what to do with the girl. Let's go. He will be home in an hour he said." Skinner said with a raised eyebrow. It was better not to think too much.

End of part fifteen

What the heck do I do with Melissinha?

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TITLE: JUNGLE HEAT II: The Sign of Evil(16/16)

Part Sixteen by request, R to NC17,

At Washington's house

Wednesday, September 3rd

Midday

Washington stopped in his tracks when he saw the tiny, dirty girl in Maggie's arms. He had come home half an hour earlier. As his new friends were going back to America in two days, he wanted to spend more time with them. He rolled his eyes in dismay.

"Don't tell me, you found another kid to adopt, Walti? I know, there are thousands of them out there, but that's ridiculous. You remind me of one Brazilian couple in Sao Paulo. They adopted about 70 kids. What is more amazing, they have already four of their own." He stepped closer. "Hmm, cute little baby girl. She reminds me of Dana. Maggie, don't you think it's time to give her a bath?" He said, smiling. He felt more like laughing out loud when he saw Skinner's face, gasping for breath. Skinner was trying to say something, but was silenced by the sight of Maggie's blue eyes, shining at the thought, and Chico's head, tilted in thought.

"Come with me, Maggie. I think I have some clothes for her from Jussara. She is about her age." Said Washington's wife, laughing and led her to the bathroom. She thought it was time to give the poor, huge American time to get used to the idea. Washington couldn't help but laugh aloud when he heard Chico's innocent question.

"Oh, Papai. Is Melissinha really going to be my sister? That would be fine. I had always to take care of her when her mamae had to go to work." The boy looked up, happily, at his huge father. On trying to get up on his arms, and as always not succeeding, he finally pulled Skinner by the sleeve and held his arms up. "I can teach her English, as Tio Hans taught me. I always wanted a sister, and now I have two. Isn't it, that when you marry Mamae, Dana will be my sister, so I don't have to call her tia anymore. And Tio Foxi will be my brother too, because he is going to marry Dana soon. Did you see the ring she is wearing? I saw it immediately. Why don't you marry all together? Then there will be a feast all year on the same day. Hey, why don't you say something?" He asked, finally, and couldn't quite understand why everybody was laughing but his father. Grown ups were strange sometimes.

"Chico, you won't let me get in a word edgewise, but maybe now I can answer your questions. And it's anything, not something." Answered Skinner with a little smile. He was a little shocked. Another child? Nevertheless, it would be hard, if not impossible to say no. He knew that look she had a moment before.

"I'm going to ask Mamae." Chico climbed down and dashed to the bathroom. "Mamae! ... "

"Stop laughing, Agent Mulder." that was just what he needed, to have Mulder and Scully laughing at him. Washington wasn't any better help, it was his fault anyway to bring that stone to a roll.

Fortunately Agent Plumper wasn't here. Speaking of whom, where the heck was he? "What can you ...?"

"What I can do to accelerate the process of adopting?" Washington interrupted him, laughing. He knew it would be impossible for the huge AD to deny Maggie and Chico anything. "Well, I've to ask Judge Rodrigo. It's the same from the other time. He signing the papers and I'm doing some research on the girl's background, it shouldn't have any problem, if she is really alone in the world. Paulo Saiko. That's the man I need." Still muttering to himself, left them.

Skinner sighed. As he could see, everything was taken out of his hands. What did he do to deserve it? Nothing, he decided. With a last glance from the corner of his eyes to his two laughing agents on the couch he turned and went to see what his suddenly increasing family was doing. How the heck, was he going to explain this to his sister and younger brother? Life wasn't easy anymore. But he had to agree, the baby girl was really cute, but he would be damned if he were going to admit it to anyone.

"Scully, I would have paid to see Skinner's horrified face from a moment ago. Do you think he can manage it with two chatterboxes? He's really lucky, Melissinha isn't yet able to speak English, because of what I saw in the Limo she's a lot like Chico." He sat her on his lap and embraced her. "Who knew our AD would settle down with two kids?"

"Mulder, be careful. Your ribs are still broken and your leg ..."

"Never mind. It doesn't hurt anymore and besides, I missed you."

"Missed me? I was with you all the time."

"Okay. So I missed holding you. Better?" he asked, kissing her along the jaw line and her throat.

"Ai, ai, ai, ai, ai. It's time to marry for you two too. Tio Foxi, you kiss like Papai. I just came to say, that lunch is ready. It's odd to say lunch, 'lanche' in Portuguese means snack."

In the evening

Thank you, Paulo. I'll call you tomorrow. Washington hung up the phone and went back to the crowded living room, where everybody but Plumper were present.

Mulder was dozing on the couch with his head on Scully's lap, she was caressing his hair absently and watching the little girl on her mother's lap. The baby girl was chatting almost without interruption reminding her of her sister Melissa. It seemed like destiny was attempting to reconcile her mother's loss. Melissinha's name after all was Melissa as she found out that the end "inha" meant little, like some of Washington's boys called Chico, Chiquinho. She thought about what her brothers would say to the new situation. She knew that they weren't happy about her mother's future marriage.

Skinner was sitting beside her on the two-seat couch with Chico on his lap, the boy chatting along in a confusion of the two languages.

Watching them together, they really seemed like a family. Her mother's face shone a tranquility and happiness through. Her thoughts were interrupted by Washington's cheerful laughter.

"Everything is okay. The judge signed the papers after he saw Maggie. Congratulations to your new daughter. That was easy. There are just some other papers both have to sign. It would have been easier if you already were married."

"Thank you very much, Washington." Skinner said.

"What are friends for?"

Later that night

"Mulder, don't you think it's time to go in?"

"Why? It's a warm night. Everybody is sleeping and this hammock is relaxing. There are still people walking along the beach." They were at the balcony of their room on the second floor. Their view was to the beach of Ipanema. The hammock was wavering to the soft breeze. Scully was lying half on Mulder, her head on his chest.

Washington's house was really big with a lot of spare rooms.

Scully and Mulder received without hesitation from the Delegate's wife a room with two single beds. A larger one for Skinner and Mrs. Scully and the two kids. And another one for Plumper. Just that he remained more at night there than during the day. When asked what he was doing all day long he said just sightseeing. As he hadn't had a chance for it the last time they were in Rio.

Mulder suspected there was something else holding him away. From the near beach they could hear drums to the rhythm of the samba and some people dancing and singing. The night was clear with brilliant stars.

Some hours before there were fireworks and the streets full of people gathered around musicians on high cars, dancing and singing. Botafogo, a Soccer team of Rio had won a game in some Championship. Another excuse for the Cariocas to have a feast. They laughed, when they saw a man alone dancing through the street with all the shakings and rolling around his waist to the rhythm of Samba, balancing and kicking a soccer ball all way through.

Far away they could see the giant-wheel of an amusement park still in brightly lit. Couples were with their kids, even so it was well after midnight. As they heard on September 7th was Independence Day Holiday, but the people were already celebrating the day. As it was also the week of Independence.

Washington had tried everything to make them stay during the holiday, but it was really time for Skinner to go back to work. But Plumper already said he was going to stay for two weeks, for his vacation, if it was okay with Skinner.

The white open arms of the Christ Statue high on the Corcovado mountain seemed to welcome and bless all the newcomers to the still marvelous city, in spite of the increasing crime, but it couldn't be that bad when you can still see happy faces by rich or poor. People of all races walking side by side, dancing and singing on the streets and the beautiful beaches walked by couples in the never sleeping city. Indeed a different country full of contraries.

The couple in the hammock rocked gently to the soft breeze from the sea, unperceived they kissed, oblivious suddenly to the beauty around them or because of it they forgot for some hours their quest for the truth to find their own by loving each other with all their heart. Maybe the hammock wasn't so bad to cuddle in after all.

When the kisses were becoming too hot for Scully's taste out in the open she withdrew herself from Mulder's arms. "Come inside. It's late." She helped him up, smiling when she saw his pouting lip. But he said nothing, obeying after a last glance to the Christ statue shining holy by the lights surrounding him.

He sat down on his bed with Scully's help. He sighed when he saw Scully going to her bed and switch off the bed light.

Okay, he was beaten up and battered, but that didn't mean she had to treat him as an invalid, because he could assure her, he definitely was in prime health in certain areas!

He began to pull his t-shirt over his head, when he felt her hands on his chest, caressing and finally pulling his t-shirt fully over his head. She began to kiss him going from his mouth down to his throat. He groaned and leaned carefully back.

"I ... I thought ...you were going ..." he couldn't continue when he felt her hands slipping down and yanking his sweat-shorts away.

She leaned on him again, careful with his broken ribs. "How do you feel?" She asked, while kissing him along his throat.

He barely could answer, "Like in seventh heaven. Love me?" he whispered.

"That's what I'm doing. If you didn't feel it, I think I've got to be more convincing." She slowly found her way back to his chest, licking and biting until he reached his nipples. She took care first of the left and then went to the right, stroking his manhood in synchrony to her ministrations on his nipples. Mulder felt the delicious torture of her mouth, trying to control himself by holding her hand away he began to slip her up his body, but the effort was too much for him and he groaned in pain.

"Try to relax. Let me be in charge." and continued to kiss him forcefully on his full lips.

"You're marvelous." He whispered, feeling her shudder when he stroked her breasts. Scully felt desired, and was lost when she saw the fire of pure passion and love in his eyes, even though the light in the bedroom was dim only illuminated by the streetlights, she could see it, his love and desire only for her. It amazed her how easily he spoke of his love to her after all the years of denial. She couldn't wait anymore, and sitting on his thighs always carefully with his broken ribs she lowered herself feeling the force of his desire.

The soft pulsing on his throat quickened when she traced his face with both hands. She squeezed his sensitive nipples while she rode him.

The drum sound from the beach seemed to synchronize with their own savage rhythm 'til she could feel him shuddering, and arching his body for a final deep thrust. They gave themselves over to one another.

Finally she lowered her sweaty body on his and plunged her tongue into his velvet mouth. Finally satisfied, they embraced, her head on his shoulder with her mouth and her tongue tracing tiny circles on his throat. He trembled.

"I love you." whispered Mulder into her ear while he brushed his hand up and down her spine in small circles matching the ones of her tongue on his sensitive throat and neck.

"Not more than I do." She whispered back. A dim light appeared on the bedside but strangely she wasn't afraid and it transformed itself into the short but shiny translucent form of the old Paje, for a moment and they could hear the soft laughter he used to give back in the jungle. Before he disappeared completely he waved good-bye.

A soft breeze came from the open balcony door and they could hear the soft sound of breaking waves, smell the spicy aroma of the sea and hear the heart going drums in the rhythm of the jungle. Down the horizon the first light broke through for a new day to begin, touching with its first sunlight the open arms of the Christ Statue high on the mountain Corcovado.

Finis

End of the last chapter

End of part sixteen

Feedback? I hope you liked it. Well Cancerman is still pissed of.

And Jungle Heat III: Forbidden Soulsis waiting...


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